All for One and One for All
by keelykelly
Summary: This is another version of Barbie and the Three Musketeers. Only this time, she has an older brother, named Conrad. I only own Conrad, Mattel owns everyone else.
1. Chapter 1

Once upon a time, faraway in Paris, there's a legend of mighty men known as Musketeers. Their job was to protect the royal family at any cost. Well, one of the best known of them was D'artagnon. He, and his friend, Treville, who was the captain of the musketeers, were unstoppable.

Well, our story today isn't about D'artagnon and Treville. It's about a different generation. D'artagnon's children. Conrad and his little sister, Corinne.

**Fifteen year old** Corinne was watching out the window expectantly "When are they going to get here?" she groaned.

Her mother, Marie, laughed "Patience, Corinne. They'll get here soon enough."

Corinne nodded, the resumed her stare out the window.

Corinne had white blond hair and bright blue eyes. She was wearing a red jumper with an off-white shirt underneath and brown boots.

Her father, D'artagnon and her older brother, Conrad, were musketeers, and were due home anytime. Because of how far away they lived from the city, they could only make the trip home once every three months.

She sighed as she leaned against the window sill "Someday."

Marie looked back at her daughter "You still want to be a musketeer?"

Corinne nodded "Oh yes. More than anything!" then she caught sight of two horses racing down the road "They're here!" she ran out the door and stood on the porch to wait. Her mother joined her a few moments later.

D'artagnon, tall, brown haired and brown eyed, stepped down from his horse.

The Conrad, Brown haired and blue eyes, dismounted from his.

Both were wearing their blue musketeer uniforms.

"Conrad!" Corinne cried as she jumped off the porch.

"Corinne!" Her brother met her half way and hugged her "It's so good to see you!"

Corinne laughed and looked up at her dad "Hey, Daddy."

D'artagnon nodded then chuckled "Hello, Corinne." Then he went to greet his wife.

Corinne pulled back from her brother "So tell me everything! What happened while you were away this time?"

"Well, lot's happens when you're the Prince's personal guard."

Corinne's mouth fell open "You're the Prince's personal guard?!"

He nodded "Yep. Of course, I'm not around him 24/7. Only when something comes up."

"Hey, Conrad." D'artagnon said "Why don't you and Corinne do the chores while your mother and I fix dinner."

"Done." The two younger ones said in unison, then they ran towards the barn.

Marie laughed "Remember when they were little?"

D'artagnon nodded "Inseparable."

Conrad was only three years older then his little sister. So growing up, they were each other's companions. Everything they did got done together. When they were young, they'd sword fight with wooden swords and talk out life as a musketeer. Then, when Conrad had finally gotten old enough, he went with his father to Paris and was deemed a musketeer, due to his father's reputation.

"I wish I were a musketeer." Corinne said as she and Conrad were fighting with their wooden sword in the barn.

"Some day, Sis." Conrad laughed "We'll be working side by side. Taking down criminals and protecting the prince together." With a slight twist of his sword, he sent hers flying across the barn. He watched as the sword landed on the hay covered floor "It'll happen." He said "But it won't be easy." He turned to look at his sister, only to find her missing "Corinne?" his attention was then drawn to a pile of hay bales that stacked nearly to the roof, and a blond haired girl standing on top of them "Corinne?"

She jumped and grabbed a rope that was hanging from the roof and swung halfway across the barn, released the rope,

Conrad watched as she flipped through the air, landed on her feet, then stumbled backwards, landing on a bale of hay.

"Future reference." He laughed as he pulled her to her feet "You need more height if you want to even think about sticking that landing."

Corinne shrugged "I'll get it next time."

"Not without a higher elevation." He glanced around before whispering "Dad hasn't even been able to stick that landing yet. Trust me. I've watched him."

Corinne laughed "Good to know."

"Come on." Conrad said, tossing her a pitchfork "We've got chores to do."

"Alright." Corinne tossed a forkful of hay into her father's old horse, Alexander's, stall.

Conrad patted the horse on the nose "Good ol' boy."

Alexander had served their father for several years before Treville had bought him a new, younger horse.

"Do you think he misses musketeering?" Corinne asked, sneaking over to the hay bale pile again.

"Probably." Conrad answered, not looking at his sister "I think he loved it as much as dad does. And if you think you're going to land right without going higher, you're wrong."

Corinne froze halfway up the pile and sighed "The only think higher is the barn roof."

"And that wouldn't work. Unless you can hook a rope to the sun."

She grabbed a fist full of hay and threw it at him "I was serious, Conrad!"

"So was I." He laughed.

Corinne placed her hands on her hips "You're right Conrad. This elevation _is_ too low for that jump."

He raised an eyebrow "But?"

"It's perfect for tackling!" She was about to make a flying leap when her mother and father stepped into the barn.

"I hope you're not planning on jumping." Her mother said.

Corinne shrugged and jumped to the ground "Not far."

"Dinner's ready."

"Okay." Conrad nodded "I'm starved!"

"Don't they feed you in Paris?" Corinne asked as they walked towards the house.

"Define, feed." Conrad responded. Then he winked "Of course they do."

Their time together passed too quickly for the siblings. Before they knew it, the four days had passed and it was time for the musketeers to leave again.

"I'm going to miss you, Corinne." Conrad said as he hugged her.

"Don't worry." Corinne answered "I'll be in Paris before you know it. Then we'll be working side by side forever!"

Conrad nodded "I look forward to it, Sis."

D'artagnon mounted his horse "Come on, Conrad. They're not going to wait for us forever."

The boy nodded, then jumped up on his horse "Bye Mom! Bye Corinne. See y'all in a couple months!"


	2. Two years later

Two years passed, and Corinne was out in the barn practicing. Her kitten, Miette looking on.

"Tomorrow's the day Miette!" Corinne said excitedly "I'm going to Paris!"

"Yes, you are." A voice said behind her.

She turned around and smiled "I can't wait to see Dad and Conrad!"

Her mother nodded, then sighed "I wish you weren't going."

"Mom…"

"I know, Corinne. This is your dream. I heard it from Conrad when it was his turn."

Corinne smiled "It won't be long before you'll be able to say that both of your children are musketeers! And one of them is the first female musketeer EVER!"

It took her all of ten minutes to have Alexander saddled, packed up and ready to go.

"Good bye, Mother." Corinne said as she hugged her.

Marie sighed and squeezed her daughter back, nearly suffocating her.

"Uh, Mother?" Corinne mumbled "You can let me go now."

"Do I have to?" Marie teased slightly as she stepped back "Be careful. And be safe."

Corinne nodded "I will." She jumped up onto Alexander's back, then sent her mother one last wave before heading down the lane.

She looked down at Miette who was sitting in front of her in the saddle and smiled.

They were going to Paris!

It took two days to get to Paris from her country home in Gascony.

Corinne looked around in excitement as she rode through the city. She passed a musketeer who looked at her and nodded, then continued on his way. She finally located the livery stables and dismounted "Can you take care of my horse?" she asked the boy sitting outside the livery.

"I suppose there's room for one more." The boy said "I'm Serge, I work at the castle."

"Hello, Serge." Corinne said with a slight curtsy "I'm Corinne, from Gascony. It'll just be for a couple of days! Thank!" the walked a few steps then squealed "I'm going to be a musketeer!" then she ran down the road.

"Corinne!"

She saw a brown haired musketeer waving at her.

"Hi Conrad!" she waved.

He ran over to her "It's good to see you!" he said as he hugged her "So, what's up?"

"I'm here to be a musketeer!" She answered as she and her brother startled walking down the road.

Conrad cleared his throat "Yeah. About that."

"What?"

"I'm warning you. Dad and I both have talked to Treville, and he ain't too anxious to put a girl in the force."

Corinne rolled her eyes "I'll change his mind."

Conrad shrugged "There's his office." He said pointing to a doorway that had a gate blocking it.

Corinne smiled "See you in a few minutes, bro." she walked over to the gate, but the two musketeers guarding the gate wouldn't let her through.

"Let her in, Pierre." Conrad said.

Pierre shook his head "I can't. Regent Philippe is with him right now."

Just then, the doors opened and Treville and Philippe came out.

"It's always a pleasure to see you Philippe." Treville said.

"And you as well, Monsieur Treville." The Regent said "You must come and visit me at the chateau once Prince Louis is king. I will have plenty of time on my hands when I am no longer looking out for him."

"You've done a fine job as Regent, Philippe." Treville said "And Louis is now ready to be king."

Philippe nodded and walked out the gate. When he spotted Corinne he stopped.

"Young Lady, are you lost?" he asked "Certainly you have no business with these roguish musketeers."

"I'm not lost, Sir." Corinne said a bit defensive "I've come here to speak with Monsieur Treville about becoming a musketeer."

Philippe laughed, causing Conrad to cringe.

"Well that's a good one, my dear." The Regent smirked, ignoring Conrad who was waving his hands wildly behind Corinne's back, warning Philippe to not got down that path "As if a girl could ever possess the proper skills to be a musketeer."

Conrad face palmed and groaned while Corinne placed her hands on her hips and glared.

"I'd like to see you say that when I'm the one protecting the Prince and not you!"

Conrad clamped a hand over his sister's mouth "Good Day, Sir." He said quickly.

Philippe snorted and turned to the captain of the musketeers "Good Day, Monsieur Treville." Then he looked at Corinne and scoffed "Musketeer." Then he walked away.

"Okay, how about you avoid that guy." Conrad whispered in Corinne's ear.

Corinne broke loose from her brother's hold and ran towards the gate "Monsieur Treville! I must speak with you!"

"I'm sorry, you'll have to come back another day." Treville said walking back towards his office doors.

"Please, Sir." Conrad said "Just talk to her."

Treville looked over at Conrad "Is this your sister?"

"Yes, Sir."

Treville groaned slightly, then he looked at Corinne "Come with me."

Conrad patted her back "Go for it, Sis."

Corinne nodded and followed the captain.

Conrad picked Miette up off the ground "I hope he's not too hard on her."

Corinne was led to a back balcony, where Treville stopped and waited to hear what she had to say.

"Thank you, Sir." Corinne said "As you know, I'm D'artagnon's daughter. And Conrad's sister."

"Yes." Treville nodded "What can I do for you?"

"Well," Corinne smiled "I want to be a musketeer." But her smile quickly vanished when the captain laughed.

"Being a musketeer required more than just desire." Treville said, slowly walking in a circle "It requires the proper training."

'I have trained!" Corinne insisted "Every day at the farm!"

"And it requires years of experience." Treville said, trying to find an excuse that would make her give up.

"We all have to start somewhere." Corinne commented, crossing her arms.

"Yes, but…" The captain was racking his brain trying to think of something "Every musketeer musk first serve his country and perform brave and noble acts, _before _becoming a musketeer."

"I know I can do it. Please give me a chance!"

"It is a privilege to protect the royal family." Treville said a bit harshly "One that is not taken lightly." He stood right in front of her "I'm sorry, you're just not ready."

Corinne's shoulder's drooped "Oh."

"I'm sorry to have to say it, but it's true." Treville said, directing her to the door "But that's the way it is."

Corinne nodded "Yes, Sir." Then she left.

Conrad took one looked at her face and knew it had gone bad "Hey. You okay?"

She shrugged and took the kitten from her brother "I'm not ready." She mimicked.

"What did he say?"

"You need the proper training. And years of experience. Oh yeah, and you must perform brave and noble acts, before becoming a musketeer."

Conrad snorted "You don't believe that do you?"

"Why not?" Corinne shrugged.

"If you had to preform brave and noble acts, I wouldn't be a musketeer." Her brother answered "Actually, most of the guys wouldn't be musketeers."

"So, he just made that up to get rid of me?"

"Yep."

"So, now what?"

"Well…" Conrad thought for a moment "You could get a job and keep pestering Treville until he listens to you."

Corinne laughed "I like that idea. But where would I get a job."

"The castle."

"The Castle!?"

"I pulled a few strings, but I arranged for you to get a job there." Conrad smiled "Don't worry, you'll get to where you want to be."

Corinne sat Miette down and threw her arms around her brother's neck "Oh! Thank you!"

"Anything for you, Sis." Conrad chuckled.

Just then, a deep bark was heard nearby. Corinne and Conrad looked in just enough time to see a bullmastiff start chasing Miette. The kitten let out a frightened Meow, the took off running down the street.

"Miette!" Corinne called "Wait!" then she started chasing the dog that was chasing her kitchen.

"Corinne!" then Conrad started chasing his sister.

"Excuse me! Pardon me!" Corinne called as she ran through groups of people, trying to rescue her kitten "Oh! Excuse me!"

Then came Conrad "Sorry folks! Musketeer coming through! Serious business!"

A brown haired, brown eyed girl in a purple dress with white sleeves stepped out of a fabric store, a large piece of purple fabric in her hand. After trimming it up some, she tied it over her shoulders like a cape.

"Viola!" She said proudly "Magnifique!" then she strutted out into the street, only to have a kitten and a dog run by her, splashing mud onto the hem of her dress "Ooh!" she shrieked "Mangy beasts! It's a crime against fashion!" but the words had no sooner gotten out of her mouth than Corinne came running by, accidentally sideswiping her and knocking her down into a mud puddle.

Corinne spun around for a split second, smiling slightly "Sorry!" then she continued running.

"Ugh!" the brown headed girl groaned, then she spat "Don't mess with the dress!" she shook some mud off her arms and was about to stand up, but Conrad ran by just then, his foot landing in another mud puddle that was nearby, sending a large pray of mud all over the girl.

"Sorry!" Conrad called "Really!"

"Ooh!" The girl huffed "What is with you people today!?"

Corinne continued to chase Miette through a garden that was right outside the palace.

A red headed girl with green eyes, wearing the same style of dress as the brown head, only green, was dancing in the garden and quoting poetry to herself.

"That which we call a rose by any other name, would smell as sweet." She sighed contentedly. But the moment was short lived as Miette and the dog ran under her feet.

"Uh!" She cried, trying to get out of their way.

"Excuse me!" Corinne called, sideswiping her too.

The red head landed in the rose bushes with a THUD!

"Oh." She groaned "That was exceedingly rude!" she called after the running blond "I shall not stand for it!" she stood back to her feet.

"Coming through!" Conrad shouted, slightly knocking the red head.

"Whoa!" she squealed.

Conrad spun around and grabbed her arms, stabling her "There." then he took off again.

Corinne and her escapee's came to a bridge "Oh dear." She mumbled, spotting a dark girl with dark brown hair and dark brown eyes playing a violin on the bridge. She was wearing the same style of dress as the last two, just blue.

Miette and the dog ran between her legs "Whoa!" she cried, accidentally throwing her violin bow to the top of a cupid fountain that was nearby "My bow!" she looked around "Where did it go?"

Then Corinne ran by and sideswiped her too.

The girl fell into the fountain and came up sputtering. She looked at her wet violin and gasped "I'll get you!" she called after Corinne.

"Okay!" Corinne responded "But you're gonna have to stand in line!" and she continued running.

Conrad ran past and looked around "Hey," he asked the dark haired girl "Did you see a kitten, and dog, and a girl run past her a minute ago?"

"Yeah." She answered, climbing out of the fountain "They're heading for the castle."

"Thanks!" then he started after his sister again.

"I hope you're going to arrest her!" Renee shouted.

"Not quite!" Conrad answered.

Standing in the gateway to the castle were two regent's men… sleeping. One snored as his head fell against the wall. They suddenly woke with a start as the two animals ran between them, making lots of noise. They watched the animals for a second, then looked at each other. Then Corinne ran between them "Hey!" they shouted "Wait!"

The Conrad ran past them "Gotta be faster than that boys!"

Corinne chased the animals up about 25 steps, then around to the back door of the castle, when the animals ran through as an older maid was coming out. The maid shook her head, then closed the door.

Corinne stopped momentarily to catch her breath, then went up to the door and was about to knock when it flew open.

"You're fired!" a, kind of stout, red headed woman with dark brown eyes shouted, pushing a black haired girl out the door "And don't ever come back!"

Corinne peeked in the door, trying to spot Miette.

"Who are you?" the woman demanded, causing the girl to jump.

"Corinne, Madame." Corinne answered, curtsying slightly.

The woman eyes her for a second "Ugh. You'll do." Then she grabbed her arms and yanked the girl through the door.

When Corinne regained her footing she shook her head confused "Okay."

"I'm Madame De' Bosse." The woman said "What brings you here?"

"Well," Corinne said "I was chasing after my cat, who was being chased by a dog that's really really big."

Bosse rolled her eyes "To Paris."

"Oh. Um…" Corinne smiled "I came to be a musketeer."

The old maid, that was sweeping nearby, looked up curiously.

Madame De' Bosse laughed "You? A musketeer? There are no female musketeers."

"Not yet." Corinne said "But it's my dream!"

Once again, the old maid sent her a curious glance.

"Dreams are for sleeping." Bosse snapped "Never mention this nonsense again!"

Corinne frowned. She couldn't wait to get away from this woman, find her cat, and leave.

"I appear to have an opening." Bosse continued, picking up a pink uniform with pink shoes sitting on top "Do you want a job or not?"

Corinne opened her mouth to say no, but Conrad and the two Regent's guards burst through the doors.

"Corinne!" Conrad panted "Thank goodness!" he turned to the two confused guards "Thanks for your help."

The two men grumbled as they turned around and left.

"Madame De' Bosse." Conrad said slowly "This is my sister, Corinne. The one that I arranged for her to get a job."

"You got me a job working with her?" Corinne whispered exasperated.

"Not quite." Conrad answered "I got you a job working _for _her."

Corinne groaned "Even worse."

"So, do you want the job?" Bosse asked.

Conrad nudged her and nodded.

Corinne sighed "Yes, Madame De' Bosse." She took the uniform from the woman.

"Then follow me."

Conrad smiled "Later Sis." Then he disappeared through the door.

As Bosse, slowly, walked towards the kitchen door, she ran her hand across one of the tables "Is that a speck of dust?!"

Corinne's eyebrows rose. What had Conrad signed her up for?

"Goodness Helene!" Bosse shouted, startling the older woman, causing her to drop the duster she now had "If you weren't the only one who knows where everything is in this castle, I'd have fired you long ago."

Helene reached for the duster, but Madame De' Bosse just kicked it away from her.

Corinne couldn't believe that woman! She was the closest thing to a monster she had ever met! Corinne stepped forward and picked the duster up off the floor and handed it to Helene "Here, Madame."

Helene took the duster, a bit surprised "Thank you."

Corinne smiled, then followed Bosse from the room. She was led down a long glamorous hallway, and into the great hall, where a large staircase was. Corinne looked around in awe. She had never seen anything so… beautiful!

Madame De' Bosse clapped her hands, a disapproving look on her face "Girls!" she called.

Through a doorway nearby came three girls. Corinne's eyes widened as she recognized them.

One was covered in mud. One covered in grass and broken rose stems, and then one sopping wet. And by the look on all their faces, they recognized her too.

"These are your late… and messy coworkers." Bosse said "Viveca" the brown covered in mud "Aramina" the red covered in rose stems "Renee" the dark brown sopping wet "Meet Corinne."

She smiled the best she could, but it was hard when you had three angry girls glaring at you.

"I should fire the whole lot of you," Madame De' Bosse continued, not seeming to realize anything was wrong "But with the prince's masquerade boll in a week, I can't afford to lose anyone else. So instead you will be working late. Now get to work, all of you!" then she went up the stairs.

As soon as she was out of earshot, the three girls looked at Corinne and let out a disgusted "Ugh!"

"Fashion ruiner!" Viveca exclaimed, only in French.

"Oh! Rose breaker!" Aramina added.

"You!" Renee growled.

"I'm so sorry. Really." Corinne said "If there's anything I can do to make it up to you."

"She should wash all the draperies in the ballroom." Viveca said.

"No!" Aramina interrupted "She should dust every book in the library!"

Corinne sighed. This wasn't going well.

"Wait." Renee said, stepping towards the blond "I have the perfect job for her."

The looked on her face said, Oh yes. Payback time "Follow me."


	3. Fountains and Friends

After Corinne changed into her uniform, which was just like the other girls' just pink, she followed Renee into a HUGE round room.

"This is the ballroom." Renee said "It needs cleaned for the ball." She then handed Corinne a toothbrush "And you're going to do it."

Corinne took the toothbrush and sighed "Of course, Renee." Miette ran up and sat down beside her master.

Renee turned on her heel "And have it done by the end of the day!" then she was gone.

"Great, two Madame De' Bosses." Corinne groaned, then she got to work. Several hours later, Madame De Bosse came walking into the room to inspect what the girl had done.

"You missed a spot!" she said, pointing to a small black spot on the floor.

Corinne looked over at Miette and sighed.

"No cats in the castle!" The woman declared right before sweeping up the kitten and carrying her away.

Corinne watched as her only friend in the place was carried away, then she resumed scrubbing the floor.

After she was done with that, the rest of her day was filled with dusting and more scrubbing and doing just about anything the other girls asked her to do.

Conrad happened upon her as she was washing a large window.

"How's it going sis?"

Corinne sighed "Don't ask."

His eyebrows raised "Is it that bad?"

"Well, so far, I have scrubbed the ballroom floor with a toothbrush," Conrad's eyebrows rose "Dusted the books in the library with a blush brush, and currently washing windows with a makeup sponge."

"Wow." Conrad mouthed "Eventful day."

Corinne sighed "Not to mention everyone that I work with is mad at me."

"For knocking them over?"

"Yep."

"Keep at it, Sis." Conrad said encouragingly "It'll get better."

Corinne looked at the small, triangular sponge in her hand "I hope so."

By the end of the day, Corinne was ready to crawl into a nice warm bed and forget the world.

"Well," she said as they walked down the last of the outside castle steps "Good night."

Aramina smiled slightly and nodded. But the other two just sent her a 'whatever' look.

Corinne turned around, her smile disappearing when she saw the town. It was pitch black, not a light on anywhere, except for an occasional lantern, but they just added to the eerie feeling.

Aramina noticed her reluctance "Do you not have a place to stay, Corinne?"

"Uh… no." Corinne answered "But I'm sure Miette and I will think of something."

Miette meowed quietly and stepped closer to Corinne.

Aramina gasped "We cannot allow this poor girl to roam the streets at night, at the mercy of strangers!" the other two rolled their eyes "That would be most tragic! I insist she stay with us."

"I don't know." Viveca said slowly, but Miette walked over to her purring, and sending her large kitten eyes "Aw! My little kitten." She swooned, then she turned to Renee "We do have an extra bed now that Constance is gone."

Renee walked over to the blond "Do you have any money, Corinne?"

Corinne reached into her pocket, pulled out a few coins and dropped them into her hand.

Renee looked at them, then closed her hand "One week."

Aramina smiled "Then it is settled. You will stay with us. Come."

Corinne looked over at the cupid fountain that was nearby and spotted the bow stuck in the cupid's quiver "I need to take care of something." She said "I'll meet up with you later."

Then she jogged off. She stared at the fountain, trying to figure out how to get the bow.

"I don't have enough money to buy a new one." She mused "And it's way too cold to get wet."

She looked around. A wall that was about five feet away from the fountain caught her attention "Bingo."

Miette sat down and watched her, not sure what her mistress was planning to do.

Corinne climbed up on the wall and stared at the fountain. The little cupid was standing on an egg-shaped pedestal that widened in the middle.

"If I can just grab the cupid and land on the jutted out part, I should be able to get the bow." She took a deep breath, then jumped.

Miette covered her eyes with her paws. But when she looked again, Corinne was standing next to the Cupid taking Renee's bow from his quiver.

Corinne sighed with relief "I've got it!" then her foot slipped "Whoa!" she cried as she lost her grip on the cupid's left wing.

Her foot hit the wet, slippery edge of the top tier and she went plummeting backwards.

Right when she thought she was going to hit the edge of the fountain, or the rock path, she stopped falling. But not because she'd hit anything. Someone was holding her.

She let out the breath she had holding and looked at her rescuer "Thank Y…" her voice trailed off as her eyes connected with a pair light brown ones.

The boy holding her seemed at a loss for words too as he stared at her "Are… you… alright?" he finally managed to ask.

"Uh-huh." She nodded slowly.

Then he smiled. The smile reached all the way into his eyes, giving them a bit of a sparkle.

"What were you doing up there?" he asked, an amused look on his face.

"Well, I have this friend," Corinne answered "Well, actually she's not exactly my friend. She hates me." She laughed slightly and held up the bow "I accidentally made her lose this earlier, so I'm hoping if I return it, it'll help break the ice."

He nodded "I see. Well I hope it works."

"Me too."

They were both quiet for a few seconds, then Corinne kicked her legs a little "You… can put me down now."

"Oh."

And she was immediately sat on her feet "Thank you."

He nodded "It was my pleasure."

She opened her mouth to say something else, but decided against it. She had to get in before Renee called curfew and locked the door "Well… good bye."

He nodded "Good bye."

Then she walked away.

The boy stared after her, then chuckled softly "Wow." Then he went on his way.

Corinne walked up the two flights of stairs to the upstairs apartment that the girls shared. She pushed open the French doors and walked into the room in just enough time to hear Renee say.

"She's just another country girl who won't last a week in the city."

Corinne cleared her throat and Renee looked up at her shocked.

"I thought you might need this, Renee." Corinne said, handing her the bow.

Renee looked at the bow. A guilty feeling coursed through her as she looked up at the other two, then glanced at the blond.

Corinne crawled into the pink bed and yawned "Good night Miette."

Miette jumped up onto the bed beside her and curled up. Corinne was asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

Renee stood up from her chair and walked over to the pink bed "Corinne, I just wanted to say…" then she realized that Corinne was already asleep. Completely worn out from everything she'd been through that day.

Renee looked back at the other two girls and smiled slightly, then she turned back to the sleeping girl "Thank You." She whispered. Then she walked back over to her chair, looking at the bow fondly.

Viveca and Aramina smiled at each other. Tomorrow was a new day.


	4. Chasing Dreams while Dodging Chandeliers

**Conrad was chasing **the Prince down the castle halls.

"Yes!" the prince cried, chasing a small balloon that was floating ahead of him "It's flies!"

Conrad shook his head "I'm all for chasing your dreams, but this is ridiculous! Does it have to be a small flying object that moves?" then he laughed as he continued down the hall.

"And they said it couldn't be done!" Prince Louis laughed.

"Hey!" Conrad called after him "I never said a word!"

Louis just laughed "I know, Conrad. By my Cousin did! Philippe! Where are you!" he shouted "It flies!"

"Your Highness! Look out!" Conrad called.

But it was too late. Prince Louis collided into Corinne. She was sweeping the grand hall with the other girls.

"Whoa!" they both exclaimed, slightly jumping back.

"Oh… uh…" Louis stammered, then a wheezing noise caught his attention.

Everyone watched as his little flying machine slowly fell to the ground.

Louis slightly shook his head, then turned to Corinne "Sorry." Then his eyes widened "It's you!"

Corinne's eyebrows raised "You were…"

"Yeah."

Conrad looked back and forth between his sister and the prince "Y'all have met before."

"Over a series of circumstances, yes." Louis answered, never once taking his eyes off the blond before him.

"What circumstances?" Conrad asked.

Louis glanced back at his bodyguard and friend "Um…"

"We just ran into each other." Corinne said quickly, catching on that the Prince was not supposed to be outside the castle grounds at such a late hour, without an escort.

"Well, it was nice to see you again." Louis said.

Corinne nodded "Likewise, Your Highness."

Louis smiled, then walked down the large staircase.

Conrad smiled at his sister, then followed the Prince.

Corinne watched them for a minute, then Madame De' Bosse walked up to her "Never speak to the prince!" she snapped "You do not exist!" then she stormed away.

Corinne sighed and glanced back down the stairs. Aramina slid over to her "Is he not the dreamiest?"

"Aramina!" Viveca huffed "You think every boy is dreamy!"

Aramina just sighed and rested her chin on the top of the broomstick.

Just then, Philippe walked up to the Prince.

Corinne slightly scoffed _"I'll show him who possesses the proper skills to be a musketeer. He'd better watch out!"_

"Louis," Philippe said "We need to talk."

Louis picked up his small balloon and walked to the Regent "Cousin!" he said excitedly "Did you see that? I have developed a prototype balloon that floats suspended in the air!"

Standing behind him, Conrad was mouthing what the prince was saying… he'd heard it before.

"Just think how this discovery will work for my flying machine!"

Philippe placed an arm across Louis' shoulders and led him to the middle of the platform. Conrad moved behind Philippe and started mimicking him. the girls clamped their hands over their mouths to keep from laughing.

"Oh Louis." Philippe said "You know man will never be able to fly."

"Not yet." The Prince insisted "But it is my dream!"

Corinne's ears perked up. She had said the exact same thing the previous morning!

Philippe shook his head "Future kings don't have time for dreams. We need to finish up the plans for your birthday celebration."

Conrad shrugged "True."

Louis rolled his eyes "Philippe, you're still regent another few days, so you're in charge of the details!"

Conrad shrugged again "True."

Louis smiled at Conrad "So, you do whatever needs done. My flying machine can't wait!" then he and Conrad started back down the stairs. But there was a sudden snapping noise was heard over head.

Corinne and the other girls looked up and gasped. The giant chandelier was coming down!

"Conrad!" Corinne shouted "Look out!"

Conrad looked up, then quickly shoved the prince, who went tumbling down the last five stairs.

Conrad went to jump out of the way, but he wasn't quick enough, one of the large golden rods of the chandelier caught his foot, making him trip and slam into the stairs. It also kept him from going anywhere as it crashed to the ground.

Glass and pieced of broken chandelier flew everywhere.

Corinne gasped when she saw Conrad laying on the stairs, his foot pinned beneath the large chandelier "Conrad!" she sat on the railing and slid down till she got to where her brother was. She fell to her knees beside him "Conrad?"

He groaned and shook his head "I'm okay." He winced "You know, chasing miniature balloons isn't so bad."

Corinne looked at where the mangled chandelier had her brother's foot pinned to the floor.

Louis knelt down beside her "Philippe! Can you go get some other musketeers to move this thing?"

But the Regent didn't move. Instead he just stood there, a glare on his face.

"Oh, forget it!" Corinne said, jumping to her feet.

Her anger was already kindled because of the Regent not offering to help, and her worry for her brother just helped.

She grabbed one of the golden rims of the chandelier and shoved it off of her brother's foot.

Louis' mouth fell open "Wow." Was the only thing he could say.

Then, three other musketeers ran into the room.

"We heard a crash!" One said.

"Are you alright, Your Highness?" another asked.

Corinne snorted "A little late." Then she helped her brother to his feet.

"This chandelier barely missed the prince!" Philippe suddenly said "I demand to know what's going on here!"

"There must be a fault in the suspension cable." Louis said, helping Corinne bear the weight of her brother.

The three musketeers took Conrad from the two and helped him from the room.

"What happened?" The third musketeer, who happened to be D'artagnon, asked.

"The chandelier started falling." Corinne said "Conrad pushed the Prince out of the way, but when he tried to run, it caught his foot."

Louis nodded "I think I owe _two _people here my thanks." He turned to Corinne "If you hadn't shouted, I think Conrad and I both would be dead."

D'artagnon looked at his daughter and beamed "I call that, teamwork."

Louis looked at the chandelier. Several other musketeers had shown up and were attempting to carry the mangled thing away. He chuckled slightly "That thing weighs 700 pounds."

Corinne laughed.

D'artagnon didn't know the private joke that had just been passed between his daughter and the prince. He shrugged and went to make sure Conrad was okay.

Corinne looked down at her feet "Well, I'd better get back to work."

Louis nodded "I'm going to go check on Conrad."

Corinne smiled "Good day, Your Highness."

"And to you." Then he walked away.

Corinne slowly made her way back up the stairs to where the other girls were.

"Oh, poor Conrad." Aramina sighed.

"He'll be okay." Corinne said quietly.

"How do you know him?" Viveca asked.

"He's my brother."

The three girls gasped "Conrad is your brother!?"

"Yeah."

"Wait wait wait." Renee said, waving her hands "Conrad is your brother. That means D'artagnon is your father."

"Yes." Corinne nodded.

"You have a whole family of musketeers!" Viveca said "Wow, you are SO lucky."

"Yeah. I guess that's why I…" Corinne clamped her mouth shut, remembering what Madame De' Bosse had said. People in Paris were different from back home. They didn't believe a girl could be a musketeer.

"That's why you, what?" Aramina asked.

"Girls." Madame Helene said, coming into the room "I need you to run an errand into town for me."

"But, Madame De' Bosse!" Aramina gasped.

"Don't worry about her." Helene said, waving off the comment "I'll cover for you."

"Okay." Corinne nodded "What do you need?"

"It appears I ran out of flour yesterday, so I can't make the Prince's dinner." Helene rolled her eyes "And you know De' Bosse."

"Alright." Corinne said.

Helene patted her on the shoulder "Thank you."

Renee leaned over to the other two "I think they know something we don't." She still wasn't quite sure what to think of this blond country girl. True, she had retrieved her violin bow, but still.

"Come on, girls." Corinne said "Let's go and get back."

When the girls walked out the door, Helene smiled "There's plenty of people that need help in town. Don't be afraid to show your abilities."


	5. Using your Talents

"**Paris is incredible!" **Corinne exclaimed, looking around excitedly.

Renee shrugged "It's just a city. Full of people. Full of noise."

"Renee, you love Paris." Aramina said, sending her friend a calculating look.

"I'm just seeing what she's made of." Renee responded "Come on, she's a blond!"

"Not all blonds are literally _blond_." Viveca said shaking her head "Loosen up."

Corinne wasn't listening. She was too busy looking around.

But out of nowhere came a loud crashing sound.

The four girls spun around to see three, big, teenage boys standing over an old man's overturned veggie cart.

"Whoops." The biggest of the boys mocked, picking up a carrot and biting into it "Sorry, didn't see you there."

"That's Bruce Tolkens." Aramina whispered to the exasperated blond "The other two are his brother. Jack and Harry."

"Hey!" Corinne shouted at the boys who were now running in circles around the old man, who was trying to pick up his overturned food, laughing.

"Corinne!" the three girls cried, trying to grab the girl's arm. But she was too mad to be stopped.

"Hey you!" Corinne growled stepping up next to the surprised man "Knock it off!"

Bruce stopped and stared at her "Ooh! It's a girl."

"Leave him alone." Corinne demanded through gritted teeth, her fists clenched at her side.

"Sorry, girly." Bruce said walking over to her "You can't tell me what to do." With that, he grabbed her shoulders and shoved her backwards.

Corinne's hands touched the ground and feet flew up, kicking Bruce hard in the jaw, causing him to stumble backwards. Then she flipped back to her feet and dropped into a musketeer pose.

"Wha…" Harry stammered "What girl can do that?"

"I'm not your ordinary girl." Corinne snapped "Now, leave this man alone, or else."

Bruce flexed his jaw "You think I'm going to let you get away with kicking me?!"

Corinne's eyebrows furrowed "Leave. Now."

"Boys. Get her!" Bruce shouted.

Jack and Harry lunged forward. Corinne started cutting back flips away from them, then she jumped up onto a stack of barrels, then flipped over their heads.

Viveca, Aramina, and Renee were staring with their mouths open.

"Wow." Renee gasped.

It wasn't long before Corinne had Jack and Harry laying on the ground.

Bruce, now a little less sure of himself, faced the blond. He grabbed the old man's walking stick off the ground and turned to Corinne "Not so fearless now, huh?"

Corinne raised an eyebrow "Does it look like I'm backing down."

Then Bruce started swinging the stick wildly.

The other three girls watched as Corinne dodged the swinging stick.

Jack and Harry slowly got back to their feet. They picked up several rocks and turned to Corinne, who's back was to them, and was too busy to notice.

Renee pulled a slingshot out of her pocket "Don't think so." She mumbled as she grabbed a stone from the ground, put it in the sling shot, then threw it.

the stone flew through the air and struck Harry's right hand.

"Oi!" the boy cried out in pain "I'm done!" he cried, running off.

Jack looked back at Renee to see her swinging her slingshot around "Me too!" then he ran off "These girls are nuts!"

Corinne leapt back as Bruce continued to swing the stick, getting faster with every swing.

A smile appeared on the blonds face as she realized what could happen.

She jumped left two steps, then jumped right two. She did that several times till Bruce was reacting solely on her movement, then she leapt forwards.

As a natural reaction, Bruce swung the stick back, hitting his head with the stick so hard, he knocked himself out.

Corinne took the stick from him, then walked over and helped the old man sit back up his cart.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

The man nodded "Thank you."

Viveca picked up some of the vegetables from the ground "A little water and they'll be good as new."

The old man nodded again "Thank you so much." He looked up at Corinne, his eyebrows raised "You're D'artagnon's daughter."

"Yes Sir."

He grabbed her hand and shook it firmly "Your father and your brother are the most respected men in Paris. Conrad helps me on my farm when he's not working. He talks about you all the time."

"Have a good day. Sir." Corinne smiled.

"You too. All four of you."

The four girls nodded as the man walked away, pushing his cart.

"That was awesome!" Aramina squealed.

"Corinne!" Renee gasped "Where did you learn to move like that?"

Corinne looked around "Promise not to say anything to Madame when we get back to the castle?"

The others nodded, stepping in closer.

"I've been training to be…" she took a deep breath "A musketeer!"

"What!?" The three girls exclaimed.

"So have I!" Viveca said.

"Me too!" Aramina added.

"Dito!" Renee said.

Corinne smiled. Well, this was a pleasant surprise.

"Why didn't you say so before?" Viveca asked Aramina.

"I thought you would laugh at me." Aramina answered "A girl musketeer?"

Corinne nodded "Ever since I was a little girl, I've dreamed of being a musketeer!"

"As have I." Aramina said "Just think, rescuing the Prince."

"And musketeers are so very chic." Viveca added "And their blue tunics are incredible!"

Renee nodded "Musketeers rock!" then she crossed her arms "You know Corinne, I misjudged you. You're not just another country girl."

"It's okay, Renee." Corinne laughed "I didn't exactly make a good first impression."

"Come on." Viveca said "Let's get that flour."

The four girls laughed and continued to the general store.

Helene smiled as she watched the girls walk away "Perfect." Then she hurried back to the palace.

The girls returned to the palace, all toting two large sacks of flour a piece.

Once they delivered them to the kitchen, Helene nodded in approval "Now, follow me."

The girls looked at each other curiously, then followed.

Helene led them down a hall that led to a dead end.

"Um… blank wall." Renee stated.

Helene glanced back at them, then placed her hand on the wall and pressed in one of the bricks. Then the wall slid back and over, revealing a long, dimly lit, passageway.

"Come." Helene said, then she walked through the opening.

Corinne went first, then Viveca, then, with a little shove from Renee, Aramina, and finally Renee entered the opening.

"Whoa." Corinne said slowly "A secret passageway."

Viveca suddenly shrieked "Ew! Look at all the dust!"

Renee waved her hands mockingly "Ooh! And the spiders!"

Corinne chuckled. It was amazing what these city girls found important. Dust and spiders were just a part of everyday life on a farm.

Aramina sighed dreamily "It's like a secret passageway that two lovers would use to escape deep into the night!"

"Hold on." Corinne said suddenly as they reached some steps "Why are we here?"

"Yeah." Renee said "Where are you taking us."

Helene glanced up to make sure they were all on the stairs "You ask too many questions." Thus saying, she grabbed a candelabra on the wall and turned it.

Corinne gasped as the stairs beneath her suddenly gave away and she fell.

"There's nothing about a slide in the romance novels!" Aramina shrieked.

The slide suddenly took a deep dip down. Helene straightened her arms and legs and went straight down the dip, while the unprepared girls flew straight off the edge and fell straight down, hitting the hard wooden floor with a THUMP!

"I think we just dusted the passageway." Corinne laughed, holding up the hem of her very dusty dress.

Aramina shrugged "It is our job."

"We've arrived." Helene announced, stepping into a brightly lit room.

"Whoa." Corinne gasped as she stood to her feet.

The room was large with light wooden floors and purple walls. There were some large pictures of musketeers on the walls, and a fireplace. And in the center of the room was a contraption that none of them had ever seen before. It was large, wooden, and bulky. With large wooden beams sticking out at various places, and suits of armor sitting on a platform that was a part of the odd machine.

"What is this place?" Corinne asked, looking around in awe.

"This is the old musketeer's training room, from before they moved to Treville's training ground." Helene explained, walking towards one of the wall "It's been forgotten. But to a few…" she pulled on a large standing candlestick, and a part of the wall turned around, revealing a wall covered in weapons.

It had several swords, a sling shot, a bow and arrow and even some fans and long ribbons connected to handles.

"Wow." Corinne breathed "Amazing."

"You think you can be musketeers?" Helene asked.

Corinne looked back at her friends, then turned back to Helene, placed her hands on her hips and nodded.

Helene pulled a sword off the wall "Prove it." Then she threw it.

Corinne gasped. This was so hers! She flipped backwards, then jumped and grabbed the sword, smiling self-satisfied.

Then Corinne flipped up onto a large wooden bench that was in the room and dropped into a musketeer pose.

The other three girls looked at each other and nodded happily.

Helene smirked slightly, than she began popping her neck and shoulders into place. Then she grabbed a sword off the wall.

Corinne's eyes widened in shock as Helene walked towards her, swinging the sword in her hand leisurely.

Renee leaned over to Viveca "Are you believing this?"

Viveca shook her head "Nope."

Corinne watched as Helene flipped up onto the bench.

Helene smirked, sending a challenge.

Corinne's eyebrows furrowed in determination. How hard could it be?

Corinne started the match, and Helene blocked her every move by hardly flicking her wrists.

"_This isn't going to be as easy as I thought." _Corinne thought, thrusting her sword.

Helene blocked her moves just as before, and in a few seconds, Corinne's sword was stuck in the bench.

Corinne stared at the sword for a moment, then looked up at Helene in shock.

The older lady just stepped back and smiled.

After she snapped out of her shock, Viveca walked towards the wall "Rule number one. You just need the proper, accessories." She grabbed two ribbons off the wall by their handles and began to swing them around her head.

Corinne smiled as Viveca began to put out the light on some candles, one at a time.\

None of them noticed Madame Helene jump off the bench and casually walked over to where Viveca was. And as one of the ribbons flew out, Helene stuck out her sword. The end of the ribbon wrapped around the blade, then with a small yank, Viveca was thrown off balance.

It went the same for the other two.

Aramina had pulled two fans off of the wall and thrown one lit a boomerang. On its way back, Helene stuck her sword through it.

Then Renee, after pronouncing the others "Amateurs" got a sling shot and stone. The stone bounced around the room, then was ultimately caught between Helene's thumb and forefinger.

Corinne gasped as she jumped forward "Teach me to do that!"

"Me too!" Aramina begged.

"And me!" Viveca added.

"Dito!" Renee said.

"Please!" they all finish in unison.

"Hmm." Helene said thoughtfully "You have much to learn."

"We're quick learners." Corinne hurriedly added, then she blinked "Well… at least I am." She glanced back at her friends who were all nodding their heads emphatically. Corinne chuckled slightly, then faced Helene "We're quick learners!"

"I will teach you." Helene said a few moments later "But only if you do exactly as I say."

The four girls looked at each other, the excitement evident on their faces "We will!" they squealed.

Helene simply nodded "We begin."

"When?" Aramina asked.

"Right now."

And train they did. For the next few hours, Helene took them through routines, helping each of them improve in their specific areas. By the end of the day, they were all sore.

Viveca groaned, rubbing the sore part of her back "Are we musketeers yet?"

Helene shook her head "Meet me here, same time tomorrow." She then nodded towards a doorway "You have chores to finish."

The girls looked at each other then left the way the Helene told them.

When they were gone, a figure stepped around the corner and looked at Helene "So?"

"She shows promise." Helene answered, putting her sword away "Her biggest problem is speed."

The young man nodded "They need to be ready as soon as possible. There's trouble in the castle, and I have no idea who's behind it."

Helene looked at the young man before her "Corinne will be ready, and so will her friends. But you must be careful, Conrad."

"I am." Conrad answered, turning to leave the room "But no one's going to bother the maids. And I have a feeling, we're going to need them."


	6. An unexpected Balloon ride

**The next morning, **Conrad was sitting underneath a pavilion that was set up in the back yard of the castle. He was absently sketching while the prince was doing some final adjustments to his flying machine. Only this time, the thing was full sized. As in, the basket of the hot air balloon was large enough to hold at least five full grown people.

Louis walked over to a table that was under the pavilion and tossed a book on top of a pile of other books.

"So, what do you think, Conrad?" Louis asked.

Conrad squinted his eyes at the picture he was drawing "I think someone needs to create colored pencils."

Louis laughed "I'll get on it as soon as I fly. But seriously, what do you think of my flying machine?"

Conrad looked up at the contraption "It looks dangerous." He put down the pencil he was drawing with and stood up "But, I'm up for the risk."

"Good." Louis walked over to his contraption and quickly climbed the rope ladder. He messed with a few ropes "Everything appears to be in order." He looked down at the ground "I'm truly floating on air!"

A curious bird flew over and landed on the edge of the basket.

Louis laughed "Hello Locustella fluviatilis, Glorious day, isn't it?"

Conrad shook his head "You know Louis, a simple 'Hello River Warbler' would have been just fine."

But the prince didn't even seem to hear him "This is fantastic!"

Conrad stared at the contraption "I can't believe I'm about to climb into an _experimental _contraption that we have no idea if it even works." He shook his head "Not to mention it has fire involved."

"Well, we're not launching it today." Louis laughed "Just seeing how it holds up against the elements."

"That makes me feel SO much better." Conrad said sarcastically as he grabbed the lower rung of the rope ladder and was about to climb up, when D'artagnon called him.

"I'll be right back, Louis." Conrad said, jumping back to the ground.

Louis shrugged "Okay."

Conrad jogged over to his father "Yes?"

"Do you need a break from protecting the prince?"

"No." Conrad laughed "I'm fine. There's not much trouble a prince can get into when he's writing in a book."

Suddenly, there was a loud snap.

Conrad spun around just as another one of the ropes holding down the Prince's machine snapped, leaving only one holding him down.

"Not good." Conrad mumbled as he made a run for the balloon. But before he, and his father, got there, the last rope snapped, causing the balloon to jolt violently, sending the Prince flailing over the edge.

His foot caught in one of the rungs, and he was lifted high in the air.

"Your Highness!" Conrad shouted as he jumped, trying to grab onto the prince, but he missed.

Conrad looked over at his dad "This is not good."

Then they both ran after the runaway balloon.

"Someone! Help!" Louis shouted.

"We're trying." Conrad panted as he ran.

"He could be killed if we don't find a way to get him down." D'artagnon said.

Conrad suddenly skid to a stop and grabbed his father's arm "He'll be okay."

"What!?" D'artagnon exclaimed "He's hanging upside down by a machine that we don't even know if it works, and you say he's going to be okay!"

Conrad pointed to a figure in pink standing on the side of the balloon's basket, directing it away from the castle "Corinne's up there. He'll be fine."

D'artagnon sent his son a look, then snorted "Get your horse!"

**Corinne was cleaning **the windows in the terrace. She couldn't help but smile. It wouldn't be long before Treville would have to admit that she, and her friends, had what it took to be musketeers.

Then something caught her attention. Actually, there was no way she could have missed it.

The Prince was hanging upside down from a giant flying machine!

"Someone! Help!"

Corinne snapped out of her state of shock and ran out onto the terrace bridge.

She spotted two musketeers, who were too far away to identify, running after the balloon. She looked up at the large, heat filled balloon, and noticed that, because of the where the prince was hanging, it was pulling on the right side of the balloon, directing it towards a tower roof. On top of that roof was a metal point. If the balloon came in contact with that point, it would go falling back down to the ground, just like the small one had done the day before.

Corinne stepped up onto the terrace railing, took a deep breath and jumped. She grabbed onto a loose rope and landed safely in the basket. Well, as safely as anyone can land in an out of control, experimental machine.

She leapt up onto the side of the balloon and grabbed one of the outer ropes and pulled all her weight against it. It didn't work. Since she was having to pull against the weight of the balloon _and_ then prince, this wasn't going to be easy.

"Oh come on!" She growled, leaning further over the edge.

The balloon gradually changed directions, taking them away from the castle.

Corinne sighed with relief, then glanced down to see the two musketeers running towards the barn.

She chuckled slightly. She could almost imagine what a scene they were creating.

She jumped back into the basket, momentarily losing her balance because of the unexpected jolt. Once she steadied herself, she looked down at the prince who looked up at her confused. He wasn't expecting anyone to rescue him, let alone a girl. And of all girls, it was _that_ one.

"Hold on!" she called down to him.

"Do I have a choice?" he retorted.

Corinne rolled her eyes and began to pull that ladder up "Ever consider laying off the midnight cookies?"

"What!?"

"Nothing." She snickered, then shook her head. Boys.

Louis suddenly gasped.

"What now?" she mumbled.

"Trees!" he called up to her.

Corinne looked up, her eyes grew wide, then she groaned "Great. I can't move a tree from the sky! Or the ground for that matter. What do I do?"

"Ascend!" the prince answered "Pull the rope connected to the gas canister. It lifts the lid and lets a bigger flame out!"

Corinne's eyebrows rose "I have no idea what you just said."

But she disappeared from sight, so Louis assumed she was doing something. But as the trees got closer, he was beginning to have his doubts.

But, then the balloon suddenly began an upward climb.

"Oh." He heard her say "That's the gas canister. Makes sense."

Then she finished pulling him up into the basket.

"Thank you." Louis panted "I probably would be dead if you hadn't come along."

Corinne laughed "Probably." Then she looked back at a rope that was hanging over the edge, the end looking straight at her.

She picked it up curiously. It looked… cut. Then the chandelier accident crossed her mind. If her brother hadn't moved so fast, him, and the prince, would have been crushed! What if it hadn't been an accident. The prince's coronation was in a little over a week. What if someone was trying to remove him.

"You know." Louis said, snapping the girl from her thoughts "As many times as we've bumped into each other, I don't think I ever got you name."

Corinne chuckled "Oh. Sorry. I'm Corinne."

Louis nodded "It's a pleasure to finally get the name of the girl who has saved my life twice now."

Corinne looked down at her feet, heat creeping into her face "Perhaps sometime we'll be able to meet without having an almost tragedy first."

As if to answer her statement, the balloon suddenly jolted, sending both of them stumbling towards the middle.

The both stopped short of hitting each other.

Corinne's face flushed as she realized how close to he was "I…" she started, but Louis waved her off.

"I know. This balloon's got a mind of its own."

"Balloon?" she smiled.

He shrugged "What else would you call it?"

"Call it?" Corinne asked, walking over to the edge and looking down "I wouldn't even have thought to create it!"

He was surprised by the smile that was on her face as she looked at Paris "You like it?"

She nodded "It's beautiful! I can't believe I looking _down_ at Paris. From the clouds!"

He chuckled and leaned against the edge of the basket beside her "My whole life it's been my dream to fly." He told her "Everyone told me man _couldn't _fly. But sometimes you must pursue your dreams."

"Even when everyone else says it's impossible." They finished together.

Louis looked over at her surprised, she just smiled and looked back out at the clouds that were floating past.

"I could spend all my time inventing." Louis continued "But in a few days, that will be over."

Corinne looked at him shocked "Why?"

"Once I am king," he explained "There will be no time for such fancy."

"Is that your cousin talking?"

His nodded "Yeah."

"I wouldn't listen to him." Corinne said "Besides, just because you have your feet firmly on the ground, doesn't mean you can't keep reaching for the sky."

Louis chuckled "You sound like Conrad."

Corinne smiled, then she looked up and gasped "Look!" she said, grabbing his arm. They both looked down at her hand, and she quickly removed it "There's the castle." She finished.

Louis couldn't keep a smile from crossing his face as he looked at his home in the near distance. Then he realized that they were losing elevation.

He turned to see how his fuel supply was. He was disappointed to find that it was getting low. Which meant this ride was just about over.

"We're running out of fuel." He announced "I'm going to have to bring us down."

Corinne smirked "Do you know how to land this thing?"

Louis glanced back at her nervously "There's… a first time for everything."

"Ah." Corinne turned back around and gazed out over the mass expansion of land and sky. The view alone was breathtaking. She sighed "Too bad we can't stay up here forever. It's like anything you wish could come true!"

Hearing the hint of longing in her voice, Louis looked back at her "And what is your wish, Corinne?"

Corinne was quiet for a second. Should she tell him? Surely he would understand. I mean come one, they were flying! "I… want to be a musketeer!"

Louis laughed before he could stop it "You can't be serious." He said "Girls can't be musketeers."

Corinne's eyebrows furrowed. Wait. Did he, the man that dreamed of flying, just say that a girl couldn't be a musketeer? Of all the nerve! She turned her back on him and watched as the ground came closer.

The balloon touched the ground, then capsized, throwing it's two passengers to the ground. That didn't help Corinne's mood at all.

Louis stood up and helped Corinne finish standing.

Corinne yanked her arm away from him "Let me go!"

Louis was taken aback. When had this change come about? "What's wrong?"

Corinne shook her head in disgust, as two musketeers come into view, riding towards them.

"How is it that a prince can envision a man, flying through the air," she challenged "But not a girl as a musketeer!?" she spun around and stormed off, not even seeming to notice the musketeers.

Conrad leapt out of his sister's way as she stormed past _"Wonder what happened." _He thought. He knew it didn't take much to set off her temper. But depending on the reason, it could take a whole lot to get her to forget it.

He made a mental note to talk to her later, but right now, he had to make sure the prince was okay.

"Sire." D'artagnon said, running to the prince "Are you alright?"

Louis didn't answer. He just continued staring after the girl.

Conrad glanced back and watched as his sister disappeared into the trees. Then he looked back at the devastated face of the prince. He shook his head. That was impossible.


	7. Yeah She's my little sister

**Corinne stormed through **the passageways and into the training room, where her friends and Helene already were "Girls can't be musketeers. Humph!"

"You are late." Helene said with disapproval.

"And after I just saved the Prince's life!" Corinne exclaimed, placing her hands on her hips.

"You saved the prince?" Renee asked.

"Oh that is so romantic!" Aramina swooned.

Corinne rolled her eyes "So not."

"What happened?" Viveca asked.

"I was cleaning the terrace windows when his flying contraption went out of control!" Corinne explained.

"His flying contraption?" Renee shook her head confused "I thought he was just doing tests."

"He was." Corinne answered "But the ropes must have broken." Then she remembered the rope that she had spotted on the balloon "But… it looked like it had been cut."

"Cut?" Her three friends echoed.

Corinne nodded "Yeah. There was a rope hanging in the basket, and the end was sliced for the most part."

Aramina gasped "So that means…"

"Someone's trying to kill the prince."

"What you're suggesting is very serious." Helene spoke up for the first time.

"He must tell Monsieur Treville." Corinne said.

"Or the Regent." Aramina added.

"No." Helene said quickly "Until we know for sure of a plot against the prince, we trust no one."

The four girls looked at each other and nodded.

"Keep your eyes and ears open." Helene continued "You must be prepared for anything. The Prince may be in grave danger."

**Conrad walked into **the throne room to hear Philippe talking to Louis.

"We'll talk about the rest of the plans after the ball." Philippe said.

Louis nodded "Of course." He smiled at Conrad "See you later, Philippe."

The regent nodded, then left the room, shooting the young musketeer a sideways glance on the way out.

"Hi Louis." Conrad greeted.

Louis nodded and looked out an open window.

As Conrad watched, Louis' face went blank.

"What are you looking at?" Conrad asked, stepping up beside him.

He smiled slightly when he spotted his sister walking with her three friends towards their apartment. He looked up at the prince.

It was obvious that Louis was watching the blond… intently.

Conrad stepped closer to the prince "You… uh… like the blond. Don't you?" It was more of a statement than a question.

Louis was quiet for several seconds, before he looked up at his friend "I do."

'You do?"

"I do."

Conrad let out a low whistle "So didn't see that one coming."

Louis shrugged "Well, she's…"

Conrad leaned against the wall. This he _had_ to hear "She's what?"

"Different."

"Different?"

"Special!"

Conrad chuckled slightly "I've noticed. How so?"

"Well…"Louis continued to watch the girl, who had stopped walking and was just standing there talking and laughing with her friends "She's brave. Beautiful. Independent."

"_You don't know how independent" _Conrad thought. But he wanted to know exactly what the prince thought of his baby sis "Yeah?"

"She's not afraid to jump onto unidentified flying objects to save someone." Louis continued "She's sweet. She's beautiful. Sincere." He shrugged "Beautiful."

"I think we've established she's beautiful." Conrad laughed.

Louis' face turned a slight shade of red, but he continued with his list "She's amazing and has crazy ambitions."

"Like you."

"Yeah." The prince shook his head "If only I had thought of that earlier."

"About that." Conrad said slowly, playing with the handle of his sword "What _exactly _did you say to make her so steamin' mad?"

"I… told her girls couldn't be musketeers."

"Oh, man. You're doomed." Conrad slapped his forehead "She's never going to forgive you for that one."

"That's what I'm afraid of." Louis sighed.

Conrad stared hard at the prince "Your Highness…"

Louis laughed "Conrad. I told you to drop the formalities a long time ago."

"Yeah, but I have to use them one more time." Conrad said slowly, scoring a curious look from the other young man "Are you… in love with her?"

The Prince's eyes grew wide, and he glanced down at the girl, then back at Conrad "I…" he sighed "To be honest with you Conrad, I'm not sure… but I think so."

Conrad was at a loss for words. This was totally the last thing he'd expected to happen. The _Prince_, fall in love with _his sister_. "Whoa." He leaned against the window seal and stared at Corinne "Whoa." Then something caught his attention. Something moving in the trees, about fifty yards away. Then, something came soaring out of the woods, heading straight towards them.

"Louis, look out!" Conrad shouted, grabbing the Prince's arm and swinging him out of the way.

The arrow flew through the window and stuck in a picture on the other side of the room.

After the two men got over the shock and were able to breathe again, Louis chuckled to break the tension "Fast thinking."

"Fast acting." Conrad corrected, releasing the other man's arm.

"That was odd." Louis said, his eyebrows furrowing.

Conrad shrugged "It was probably a misfired arrow from the training grounds." He knew it probably wasn't, but he didn't need the prince getting worried.

Louis nodded "Probably." He patted his friend on the back "Corinne and Conrad. You two have a habit of saving me." Then his eyebrows rose "Corinne and Conrad." He repeated it a few times, then looked up at Conrad.

Conrad was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, grinning mischievously.

"Conrad." Louis said slowly. Then he nodded out the window "You don't happen to know that girl, do you?"

Conrad smiled wickedly "Yeah. She's my little sister."

Louis' face turned a deep shade of red as he looked back out the window to where the girls were. Corinne was now sitting on the ground, playing with Miette with a piece of grass.

He could not believe he just did that! He just went and told her brother everything he thought about her. He was never going to live this down.

The throne room doors flew open, and D'artagnon walked in "Your Highness. You are needed to complete some preparations for the masquerade ball."

Louis nodded "I'm coming."

As he passed Conrad, the musketeer slapped him on the back and whispered "I'm watchin' you boy."

Louis looked down at the floor, then left the room, closing the door behind him.

Conrad chuckled and leaned back against the window frame. His sister and the others were no longer in sight. He sighed as his mind drifted back to past several weeks. But most particularly, the past few days. The balloon incident, the falling chandelier. And before that. Louis had no idea how many times an arrow struck the wall two feet behind his head. Someone was out to get him, and Conrad had to make sure they didn't.

As Conrad stood there, he saw someone walk out from the trees. He squinted at the man.

He was tall with broad shoulders. A bow and quiver full of arrows were slung over his left shoulder, and he had a black eye patch over one eye.

Conrad's eyebrows rose as he recognized him. He watched the man till he walked out of sight.

The throne room door creaked open, and Conrad knew who it was by the sound of slow steps, then the thump of a stick.

"Are they ready?" He asked.

"Almost." Helene answered "When do they _have _to be ready?"

"Tomorrow." Conrad answered "Or the day after at the very latest."

Helene nodded "They will be. Why?"

Conrad didn't even turn around, his gaze was now fixed on the sun that was slowly disappearing behind the horizon "Because, after tonight, I'm going to be figuring out how to untie ropes with two hands tied behind my back."


	8. A Fight in the Night

**Corinne sat down **on her bed and yawned "What a day."

"It's been very exciting." Aramina sighed "Imagine being in the sky with nothing but the air, the clouds, the birds, and the Prince."

Corinne rolled her eyes "Did I forget to mention the fact that he said girls _couldn't_ be musketeers? And he laughed!"

"Of all the nerve!" Renee exclaimed.

"How could he do that?" Viveca huffed.

Aramina just giggled "I bet he likes you."

"Who?" the other three asked in unison.

"Corinne."

"What!?" Corinne kicked off her shoes "That's impossible."

"Is it, really?" Aramina asked "Why?"

"He's the prince!"

"So?"

"I'm just a farm girl!"

Aramina smiled sweetly "If a Princess can fall in love with her tutor, than a Prince can fall in love with a farm girl."

"Aramina!" Corinne gasped "What on earth makes you think he's in love with me?"

"Oh, the look on your face." Aramina answered "Every time we say, The Prince, you blush."

"Blush?"

"Hey she's right." Viveca piped up "You are slightly blushing."

"Have you ever heard the term, flushed with aggravation?" Corinne asked, crawling underneath her covers "If not, now you have. And have seen it too."

"I heard he's good with kids." Aramina added quickly.

Corinne gasped, then grabbed her pillow and hurled it across the room, hitting her target square in the face.

The girls laughed, then settled down. The candles were blown out and they all fell asleep.

**Corinne's eyes opened** slowly as the sound of constant tapping sounded beside her head. She looked over at the window nearby and watch as a small clump of dirt hit the already filthy window.

She threw back her blankets and quietly got out of her bed, being careful not to awaken her friends. She gently opened the window and looked down.

Conrad was standing on the ground looking at her.

"What are you doing?" She whispered.

"I need to talk to you." Conrad whispered back "Now. It's important!"

"Okay." Corinne nodded "I'll be down in a minute."

Conrad waited patiently until Corinne appeared.

"What's up?" she asked.

"Come on." Conrad said as they walked away from the apartment "I know you've noticed that there seems to be a plot against the prince, right?"

"Yeah." Corinne nodded'

"I know who's behind it."

The blond gasped "You do?"

"Yes." Conrad nodded "I'd tell Treville, but he wouldn't believe me."

"And Dad?"

"He'd probably believe me, but there's nothing he'd be able to do."

Corinne looked down at her feet then back up into the blue eyes of her brother "Why me?"

"Because, you can stop him if things get out of hand." Conrad answered "I know you have the ability to make an awesome musketeer. But you'll have to be careful, this guy's dangerous." He reached in his pocket and pulled out a small red gem "This was lying beside the musketeer rope. It belongs to the man who cut it."

Corinne took the diamond "SO the chandelier rope _was_ cut."

"Yes." Conrad nodded "So was the balloon. There's been several things happening over the past few weeks, most of them Louis has no idea about." He let out a big huff of air "I need help. You and your friends are going to have to be on your guard. This man in out of his mind, and he won't take second thoughts about harming some meddling kids."

Corinne nodded "Who is it?"

"Answer that and you'll be dead." A threatening voice growled from a tall tree's shadow "You and your sister will both be."

Conrad pulled out his sword "Show yourself." He demanded.

A man concealed completely in black stepped forward "You're outnumbered boy."

With that, several more men appeared, all holding swords.

Corinne stood back to back with her brother "You don't happen to have another sword do you?"

"Nope."

"Get them!" The first man ordered, and all the other men lunged forward.

Corinne and Conrad fought them the back they could, but there were just too many.

"Who is it?" Corinne asked "Tell me, now!"

"It…" all of the sudden, Conrad let out a sharp cry of pain and fell to the ground, an arrow caught in his right shoulder.

"Conrad!" Corinne cried, but the next thing she knew, something slammed into the back of her head, and everything went black.

"**Corinne. Corinne." A **hand shook one of her shoulders gently "Can you hear me? Are you alright?"

She groaned, the back of her head was pounding.

"Come on." The voice said urgently.

"Conrad?" she said slowly, forcing her eyes to open.

But the person leaning over her wasn't Conrad, it was Louis. His brown eyes were full of worry as they scanned her face "Are you alright?" he asked again.

"Where's Conrad?" She asked, trying to get the dizziness in her head to subside.

"I don't know." Louis answered "Why?"

"He was here." Corinne said "He got shot."

"Shot?"

"Yeah. We were ambushed."

"By who?"

"I don't know." She pushed herself to a sitting position.

Louis stared at her "Are you sure you're alright?"

"Yeah." She nodded "What time is it?"

"About six-o-clock." Louis answered sitting on his heels in front of her "Here. Let me help you."

Corinne put her hands in his, ignoring the butterflies that were in her stomach. Louis pulled her to her feet, a little too fast.

Corinne's head spun and she took an unsteady step backwards, nearly losing her balance.

"Easy." The prince soothed as he grabbed her upper arms.

Corinne closed her eyes and waited till the spinning stopped. Then she opened her eyes back, looked up at Louis and smiled "Thank you."

"You're welcome." He said quietly, but he didn't release her.

He could not understand what was happening to him. He could stand there, her just a few inches in front of him, staring into her deep blue eyes forever, and never know anything was wrong.

Corinne was feeling the same thing. She was just a country girl. A maid. And she was standing there staring into the prince's brown eyes unable to move.

But then the sound of the apartment door, opening and closing, then her friends gasping, broke the moment.

Corinne looked up at her friends who were standing at the top of the staircase staring at her.

Louis released her arms and took a few steps away from her.

Corinne could only imagine what was going through her friends' heads right now. They wake up and walk out the door to see their friend staring at the prince like a love struck puppy.

"Um… we have work to do." Renee said slowly.

Aramina just sighed, then sent Corinne an 'I told you so' look.

Corinne nodded "Yes. We should get to work. But I have to go find dad."

"What happened?" Viveca asked.

"I'll explain everything while we look for dad, okay?"

Her friends nodded "Okay."

Corinne slowly turned to face the prince "Thank you for your help, Your Highness." She turned to leave, but Louis grabbed her hand.

"Are you sure you're okay?" He asked.

Corinne nodded "Yes, I am. But Conrad's not."

Aramina gasped "Conrad's in trouble?"

Corinne nodded "That's why I have to find dad!"

"I know where he is." Louis said quickly "He was talking to Philippe in the throne room when I came out. He may still be there."

Corinne nodded, and the five young people ran towards the castle.

They burst into the throne room. Philippe, Treville, and D'artagnon were in there.

D'artagnon looked up at his daughter, his face was worried and slightly pale.

"What's wrong?" Corinne asked.

Her father held up a piece of paper "This was nailed to my door this morning."

"What is it?"

"It's a threat." D'artagnon answered "Conrad's been captured."

"I know."

"What do you mean, you know?" Treville asked.

Corinne sighed, then told them the whole story, leaving out the part the Conrad was going to tell her who was behind the sabotage.

"Corinne, you could have been killed!" D'artagnon exclaimed.

"Daddy, how were we supposed to know that a group of deranged people were going to attack us in the middle of the night?" Corinne rubbed the back of her head, getting a worried glance from Louis in the process "What does the letter say?"

D'artagnon unfolded the piece of paper "Warning, tell your children to mind their own business. Your son has already paid the price. If she doesn't keep her nose out, your daughter will pay too."

"Harsh." Renee mumbled.

Just then, they heard Madame de' Bosse's voice echo into the room "Girls!"

"We should go." Viveca said quietly.

Corinne nodded "Yes, we should."

She went to follow her friend from the room, but was halted suddenly. She and Louis both looked to where their hands were still intertwined together. She quickly, yet gently, pulled her hand out of his and then left the room, ignoring Aramina's quiet giggles.

Once the girls were out of earshot, Louis faced the two musketeers "Are y'all aware that I found her laying on the ground, unconscious with a knot on the back of her head?"

"What!?" The two older men said in unison.

**The girls were **given their assignments. Corinne was to clean the terrace again. When she finished with one tower, she walked out onto the bridge to crossover and go to the other tower.

When she was in the middle of the bridge, she stopped and stared out at the horizon. Her brother was out there somewhere. Alone. Hurt. And maybe even dying. She leaned against the railing. A tear slipped from her eyes and trailed down her cheek.

Someone stepped up behind her. She didn't know who it was, and she didn't turn to find out.

When the person just stood there, she sighed "He was my best friend." She whispered, still staring straight ahead "He was shot. If that wound wasn't taken care of properly, it could get infected and…" she shook her head "I doubt they took care of it."

The person stepped beside her. From the corner of her eye she saw gold and sliver.

"How are we going to find him?" She whispered "He could be anywhere."

She felt an arm go around her shoulders. She naturally leaned into the person, resting her head on their shoulder. A sigh escaped her lips as she relaxed against the person.

Viveca stepped out onto the bride and was about to say something, but quickly clamped her mouth shut and ran back through the doorway.

"What?" Renee asked.

Viveca pointed towards the doorway "Corinne's out there…"

"Well, get her!"

"No!" Viveca shook her head wildly "She's not alone!"

"Who's with her?" Aramina asked.

"The Prince."

The three girls tiptoed to the doorway and peeked out. Sure enough, Corinne was standing on the balcony, her head resting on the Prince's shoulder.

"I don't know why," Renee said "But I have a feeling that she doesn't realize what she's doing."

"It's so romantic!" Aramina sighed.

"But we have to get her." Viveca said "Helene won't be happy if we're late."

Renee nodded "I'll get her." Renee stepped out the doorway.

**Corinne sighed as **she leaned into the person. Who knew that just someone silently standing there could be so comforting.

She sighed again, then stepped away from the person "Sorry. And thank you."

"Anytime."

Her eyes widened. She knew that voice… oh too well.

She spun around and looked up into the face of none other than Prince Louis.

Her face flushed with embarrassment "I… I… uh…"

Louis just chuckled "Don't worry about it, Corinne. I won't tell anybody."

She wasn't sure if that helped or not, but she managed a smile "I… should be working."

She looked at the large clock that was in the middle of town and gasped "I'm late!"

"Late?"

"Yes. Excuse me, Louis, but I have to run!" With that, she ran through the tower doorway.

Renee, VIveca and Aramina stepped away from the wall that they had been pressed up against "Louis?" they whispered to each other.

"Yes?"

The girls gasped and spun around to see a highly amused Prince looking at them.

"Excuse us, Your Highness." Renee mumbled, then they all took off running after Corinne.

Louis chuckled "Girls."


	9. We've got to warn the Prince!

**That evening, the **girls trained till late into the night. The final dual was between Helene and Corinne. After three minutes, Corinne was holding Helene's sword triumphantly.

"You still have much to learn." Helene said satisfied "But you are ready to become musketeers."

"Yes!" The girls squealed, then they ran together in a group hug "Musketeers!"

"But, don't forget." Helene interrupted "You still have to convince Treville that you're ready, and that's not going to be easy."

The girls nodded, then left.

"We are so ready." Corinne stated.

"I can't believe you bested Madame Helene!" Aramina exclaimed.

The other two nodded happily.

Corinne jumped out in front of her friends "Nothing can stop us!"

Miette agreed with a happy meow.

"Let's celebrate." Viveca said.

"Yeah!" Renee nodded. Then the four girls headed down the street.

"Just wait until Treville sees us perform!" Aramina squealed "He'll have to say yes!"

"The trick is getting him to let us perform." Corinne said "Trust me. I tried."

"Maybe your dad will make him watch us." Viveca suggested.

Corinne sighed "Right now, the only thing that's on his mind is Conrad."

Viveca placed a hand on her shoulder "I'm sure he's okay."

Corinne shook her head "I don't think the people who took his cares. I can only hope that he is."

Suddenly, Miette arched her back and hissed.

Corinne looked up and spotted some of the Regent's men standing on the dark street. Behind them was a carriage with wooden crates on it.

The girls quickly dodged behind a pile of boxes and peeked out.

"What are they doing?" Aramina asked.

"Whatever it is," Renee answered "They don't want anyone to know about it."

Corinne nodded in agreement, then watched as the biggest of the men, who also had an eyepatch, pulled a dagger from his side and held it in the air. It was in the shape of a snake with rubies as the eyes… but one ruby was missing.

Corinne reached into her pocket and pulled out the gem that Conrad had given her "The Gem matches." She breathed. Then she gasped "That's the dagger that was used to cut the chandelier rope! And probably the balloon ropes too!"

They watched as the man pried open one of the crate lids and pulled a bright blue sword, that was covered in sequins and designs.

"Decorations?" Renee whispered.

Corinne shook her head "There's got to be more to it than that."

"These are the perfect party favors for the Prince's masquerade ball." The man with the eyepatch, then pulled a real sword out from the midst of the fake one "The prince won't know what hit him."

Aramina gaped so loud, that Corinne and Viveca both clamped a hand over her mouth.

After the men had disappeared, the girls emerged from their hiding place.

"Did you see that!?" Aramina exclained.

"The Regent's men, are planning to sneak weapons into the masquerade ball!" Renee said.

Corinne nodded "Come on. We've got to warn the prince!"

The others nodded, and they took off running for the palace.

"_He'll listen." _Corinne thought _"At least, I hope he'll listen."_

When they reached the castle, Corinne banged on the kitchen door "Open the door!" she shouted.

A few moments later, the door swung open to reveal a shocked Madame De' Bosse "What are you doing here at this hour?" she demanded.

"We must see the Prince." Corinne said.

The older woman scoffed "I told you, you are never to speak to the prince! Now go home at once!"

"The prince is in danger!" Corinne said, hoping the woman would just step out of her way.

"The prince has Monsieur Treville and the Regent looking after him." De' Bosse said "He doesn't need help from four meddling girls."

Renee groaned in frustration "We are not leaving without seeing the prince!"

"I forbid you from entering the castle!" The older woman snapped "Now if you know what's best for you, you'll… "

Corinne shook her head "You asked for it." She mumbled as she bent over to grab the woman's legs.

Her other three friends helped her pick up the woman and carry her out of the way.

"What is the meaning of this!" Madame De' Bosse shrieked.

They sat her down on the ground non to gently, then ran into the castle and slammed the door behind them.

The girls raced through the halls.

"Any clue as to where the prince is in this place?" Viveca asked.

Corinne shook her head "Not a clue."

"Look." Aramina pointed into the grand hall. Philippe, a few of his men, Treville and D'artagnon were talking.

"We must speak to the prince!" Corinne said, skidding to a halt.

Philippe sent them an appraising look "Why? Pray tell."

Corinne glanced up at the Regent, then turned her attention to the captain "The regent's men are plotting against the prince."

D'artagnon's eyebrows rose, but Philippe just chuckled "Ah I see. You're delusional."

"How do you know about this plot?" Treville asked, the uncertainty obvious in his voice.

"We saw it with our own eyes!" Viveca said.

"And heard it with our own ears!" Aramina added.

"And what proof do you have?" the captain asked.

Corinne was suddenly aware of some large crates sitting behind the three men. The same crates that were on the back of the carriage!

She walked past the men and pointed to one of the crates "In those crates are weapons. Weapons to be used at the masquerade ball!" she sent Philippe an, I'll-show-you looked. He just sneered "Open the crates. You'll see."

Treville sighed then waved for them to do as instructed.

Two of Philippe's men opened the crate to reveal a bunch of brightly colored swords.

One of them men pulled one out "They look like decorations."

Philippe stepped forward and grabbed the sword from him "Because they _are_ decorations. For the sword dance at the masquerade ball." With that, he snapped the one in his hands in half "As you can see, they are harmless."

The four girls looked at the sword in shock.

"But there are swords!" Corinne insisted "Real ones! Open the other crates!"

"Corinne." Treville said, stepping towards her "You must stop this foolishness."

"They are plotting against the prince!" Corinne looked over at her father, pleading for him to do something, then she turned her attention back to the captain "It's your job to do something about it!"

Treville shook his head "I hate to do this, but you leave me no choice." He pointed to each of the girls "Stay away from the Prince, the castle, and the masquerade ball. If you do not, I wall have you all thrown into the dungeon!"

"Dad! Please!" Corinne bagged "You have to believe me! If Conrad was here, he'd tell you!"

D'artagnon shook his head "Corinne…"

"Escort them from the castle!" Treville ordered.

Three men stepped forward and grabbed Renee, Aramina and Viveca's arms.

Two were heading for Corinne to escort her out. Corinne's eyebrows furrowed and she glanced back and forth between the two men.

Renee glanced at her other two friends and then looked at Corinne _"She's about to make a break for it." _She thought.

No sooner had the two men gone to grab Corinne's arms, then she spun around and shot up the stairs.

"Get her!" Philippe shouted in rage.

"Go Corinne!" Her friends called "Run!"

Corinne could hear the sound of heavy footsteps swiftly following her.

"Where would he be?" She thought frantically. Then a thought struck her. He might build his machine where he could see it from his room. So she turned in that direction.

When she saw the dark silhouette of the balloon out one of the many windows, she started calling his name "Louis! Louis wake up! Please!"

"Be quiet!" One of the men behind her shouted "Stop now!"

"Louis!" she had almost reached the end of the hall, and no answer.

"They're getting too close." She said to herself "The passageways. I have to get to the passageways!" she knew there was a secret entrance just around the corner, all she had to do was reach it, get inside and close it again before they caught her. She glanced back. She had just enough time to do that. So she pressed ahead.

But, right at that moment, one of the room doors swung open and Louis stepped out, looking highly confused.

Corinne skid to a stop when she saw him.

He stared at her.

She opened her mouth to speak, but the Regent's men grabbed her arms and started pulling her away.

"What's going on here?" Louis demanded.

"Louis!" Corinne said urgently "You're in…" but a firm hand was clamped over her mouth. She tried without prevail to shake it off.

"What's wrong?" Louis asked "Release her at once!"

"I'm sorry, Sire." One man said "But your cousin gave us orders to remove her from the premises."

"What has she done?"

"She's been disturbing the peace and causing an uproar."

Louis looked at the blond girl who was still fighting furiously against the four men that now held her. A slight smile crossed his face as he watched the four men struggling to keep her subdued "Let her go."

Corinne froze and looked at him, her blue eyes hopeful.

Philippe caught up with them just then "Remove that menace!"

"Philippe!" Louis demanded "What is going on!?"

"This girl has become a public nuisance. She's causing problems and stirring up unneeded trouble."

"Corinne?"

"Yes!" Philippe then turned to his men "Get her out of here!"

Corinne glanced at Louis one more time before she was drug away. Tears pricking in the corner of her eyes.

Louis stared after her hopelessly. What else could he do?

When the Men finally got Corinne to the kitchen, they were all panting for breath. Several of them had been slammed into walls by the struggling girl.

They got her to the door, and opened it.

Corinne slammed the heel of her shoe down on one of the men's instep.

The man yelped in shock pain and released his grip on her. Corinne tried to make a run for it again, but the other three still had her. They shoved her out the door. She stumbled on the steps and fell into the dirt.

"Serves you right, you little brat." One man spat, then he slammed the door.

Corinne sighed. She hadn't made it. Louis had no idea that he was in danger. She's already lost her brother. Was she going to have to loose Louis too?

"Corinne?" Aramina said quietly, stepping forward.

Corinne looked up at her friends "I didn't make it." She whispered.

"You tried." Viveca said "You did your best."

"We all did." Corinne said "But he still has no clue."

Renee offered her a hand up "Come on. We'd better go get packed."

"Packed?"

"Yes." Viveca snorted "While we were being escorted out, Madame Bossy came and told us that we were fired."

"And if we ever stepped foot in the palace again, we would be thrown in the dungeon forever." Aramina finished.

Corinne shook her head, then accepted Renee's extended hands "If only Conrad were still here."

"Come on."

The four girls headed back to their apartment.


	10. Getting Ready For The Ball

**The four men, **rejoined Philippe, Treville, Dartagnon, and the others in the grand hall.

"We got her outside." One said.

"Finally." Added another.

The one that Corinne had jabbed his foot was limping "That girl sure is feisty!"

Treville rolled his eyes "If you can't handle a seventeen year old girl, how are you going to handle a whole gang of men raiding the castle?"

D'artagnon chuckled "I don't think that's quite fair, Treville." He said "I know Corinne. She's got the determination of a hungry lion." He nodded towards the doorway "All four of those girls do. Be careful. Those four will be a force to reckon with if they get cornered."

Philippe let out a low growl that none of them heard _"That girl and her brother. They've ruined too many of my plans! Why didn't my men get her too, instead of just her brother!? But this I promise, if she gets in my way this time, I will get rid of her… Permanently!"_

"**This is the** worst day of my life!" Aramina sighed "We've lost our jobs. We've banned from the castle."

"And we smell like garbage!" Viveca added, spraying herself with perfume.

Corinne had discovered later that the other three had been pushed into a pile of rotten vegetables. She closed her eyes and coughed as the fumes from the perfume reached her.

"What is it?" she asked, waving the smell away.

"Roses and Lavender!" Viveca answered, taking a deep breath.

Corinne shook her head "Could strangle a person."

Viveca giggled "That's the fun of it."

"Well, enjoy the fun now." Renee said sadly "The possibilities of us ever running into each other after this is… slim."

"What do you mean?" Corinne asked.

"We've been fired!" Renee answered "We have to pack and leave!" she shook her head sadly "So much for being musketeers."

Aramina sighed "What are we going to do?"

"We're all going to go back to our homes, and forget about all of this." Viveca said sadly.

"No." Corinne said immediately "We can't leave! There's still a plot against the prince."

"Yes, And Treville and the musketeers will handle it." Renee said.

"But it's what we've been training for!" Corinne said "Why can't we protect the prince?"

"Because, we'll be sent to the dungeon forever if we step into the castle!"

"But we're the only ones who know about the plot!" Corinne placed her right hand on her hip "We have a noble duty, and we're ready! We've trained to protect the prince!"

"Everyone thinks we're wrong." Viveca sighed.

Corinne smiled "But we know we're right."

Aramina nodded her head "Maybe Corinne _is_ right. It would be dramatic! Returning from exile to save the day!"

"Who know the castle better than we do?" Corinne chuckled "We've cleaned every inch of the place."

Renee rolled her eyes. Was there no reasoning with this girl? "The guards will be at the door waiting for us!"

Viveca smiled "So, we'll need costumes, so we're not recognized." She walked over to one of her mannequins and picked up a mask.

"That's right." Corinne said, she was starting to get excited "It's a masquerade ball! No one will recognize us wearing these! We'll need four costumes. Viveca, think you can handle it?"

"Oui!" The brunette nodded "They'll be the most beautiful gowns at the ball!"

"They must be functional." Renee said.

"But of course."

Corinne thought for a second "We'll need new weapons. Ones that blend in with our costumes. Renee, can you handle that?"

"On it." Renee nodded.

"Good." Corinne smiled satisfied "I think that just about covers it."

"Well, everyone _does_ know how to dance, right?" Aramina asked.

Corinne looked down at her feet "Um… no."

"I'll teach you!" the red head squealed "Oh this is wonderful! I've always wanted to go to a royal ball! And save the prince."

"Are we in?" Corinne asked, sticking her hand out.

"I'm in." Viveca said, placing her hand on top of Corinne's.

"I'm in." Aramina added, putting her hand on top of the Viveca's.

"In." Renee also adding her hand to the pile.

"All for one! And one for all!" They said together.

Then they got busy. Viveca measured Corinne while Aramina tried to teach her to dance.

Renee sat on her desk trying to think of ways to blend their weapons into their costumes.

The night was filled with Aramina's dance music and laughter. Mainly from Corinne's many, failed, attempts to get the dance steps right.

"Corinne." Viveca called at one point "What color is your jewelry mainly, so I know what color to make your dress."

Corinne chuckled "Jewelry?"

Viveca gasped "You don't have jewelry!?"

The blond shook her head "It's not something a country girl thinks about."

Viveca shook her head "We're going to have to change that."

Corinne shrugged "Whatever." then she was pulled back to the floor to resume the dance lessons.

Standing guard outside the castle, D'artagnon smiled as he listened to the chatter and music coming from the apartment. It had to be two o' clock in the morning.

Treville stepped up beside him and looked towards the apartment "What on earth are they doing at this hour?"

D'artagnon shrugged "Being girls."

"Are you sure they're not up to mischief?" The Captain asked, eyeing the large room where you could see silhouettes of two girls spinning around the room. One smooth and graceful, the other… not so graceful.

"They're girls. Mischief is their specialty."

"You don't think their planning on trying to get into the ball, do you?"

D'artagnon glanced at his longtime friend. If he knew his daughter, which he did, she would be trying to sneak into that ball tomorrow night "No."

"Good." Treville patted him on the back "Just so you know, I have talked to the Regent, and extra precautions have been made. We're going to be on our guard."

D'artagnon nodded "Good." He looked out at the apartment "I've already lost my son."

**The morning of **the ball, Louis was standing in the ballroom looking out one of the windows. He couldn't help but wonder what Corinne had tried to tell him. Apparently it had been urgent, but for some reason, Philippe didn't think it was. And he _knew_ that Corinne wouldn't cause a disruption for no good reason.

He had just about decided to go talk to her, when Philippe walked up to him.

"Are you ready, Louis?"

Louis rolled his eyes and groaned "It's just another ball."

"Your last." Philippe said. When Louis sent him a curious glance, he quickly added "As Prince! Your next will be as king!"

Louis shrugged "I suppose that's true. But it doesn't make these things any easier though." He turned to his cousin "Are you sure you can't stay for the ceremony?"

"Oh you are grown up now." Philippe said smoothly "My job here is done."

Louis put his hands on his cousin's shoulders "I'll miss you."

Philippe smiled "Well, I'll never be far from the castle."

Louis nodded "I hope not. You're the closest thing to a father I've had since Dad died ten years ago."

That comment could have softened any man's heart. But Philippe's heart had already become so hard, he might as well have not had one.

**Corinne spun around **the room just the way Aramina had shown her. Only this time, she was wearing a long, light pink dress that went down to her ankles.

"Viveca!" She laughed "The dress is beautiful!"

"Of course they are!" Viveca said, posing in her own, custom made ball gown.

Aramina and Renee were also ready to go.

They practiced with their weapons just to ensure that they'd be able to move in case of emergency.

Then, Miette came flipping across the floor wearing a small pink cape and musketeer hat.

The girls looked at Viveca who shrugged "I couldn't resist."

Corinne looked out the window, it was starting to get dark "We've been up all night and all day."

Aramina laughed "Is anyone tired?"

"Nope." Renee shook her head "To excited."

"Well, it's time." Corinne said, putting her hand out "Let's do this!"

The other girls put their hands on top of her's and then Miette jumped up and put her paw in.

The girls smiled at the kitten, then at each other "All for one, and one for all!"

Renee suddenly cleared her throat "How are we going to get it?"

Corinne scratched her head "Um… front door?"

Viveca sighed "I think the less musketeers we pass the better."

Miette was meowing and spinning in circles.

"What's wrong, Miette?" Corinne asked.

Miette ran towards the door. Corinne looked at her friends "I have a feeling she knows a way in."

"A cat knows a way we don't?" Renee asked.

Corinne shrugged "It's possible. But we'll have to wait until it gets dark, so no one will see us."

As soon as the sun went down, the girls followed the kitten to the back of the stables.

"Great." Renee grumbled "She wants a mouse."

"No, wait." Corinne said "She's been getting into the castle somehow without Madame De' Bosse seeing her. Maybe this is how!"

Miette meowed, then jumped onto a hay bale and leaned against a rake that was stuck in it. A few seconds later, the hay bales moved to the side to reveal a long, dark passageway.

"Miette! You're a genius!" Corinne scooped up her kitten and hugged her "This will get us past most of the guards!"

"What's going on back there!" A voice shouted from around the corner.

The girls quickly ran through the opening and closed it before the man saw them.

"That was close." Aramina whispered.

Corinne nodded and pulled a torch off the wall "Come on. Let's get to that ball!"


	11. Mask-Or-Raid?

**People were starting **to arrive for the ball. Treville and D'artagnon were standing at the door greeting guests.

"Are you sure your daughter isn't going to try to sneak in?" Treville whispered to his friend.

"_She's probably already in." _D'artagnon thought "Positive."

"Come on." Treville said while waving over a couple other musketeers "Let's go further into the castle."

D'artagnon chuckled "Of course, Treville."

**The girls were **making their way through the passageways then they reached a doorway that would let them out near the ballroom.

"Ready?" Corinne asked.

"Ready." The other three answered.

"Let's do it!"

Miette crawled underneath Corinne's skirt, then Corinne turned a candelabra that was on the wall to open the secret doorway.

They stepped out into the hall and continued their way towards the ballroom.

They turned a corner and saw Treville and D'artagnon standing there.

Corinne cringed and turned around, her friends followed, hoping they hadn't been spotted.

"Ladies!" Treville said, causing them all to stop in their tracks.

"_Oh no." _Corinne thought, glancing over at her friends _"Please no."_

"The ballroom is this way." Treville said.

Corinne glanced at her father, then at her friends. Keeping her eyes on her feet, she walked between them, curtsying slightly as she passed.

The other girls did the same, not looking either man in the face.

D'artagnon smiled slightly as the girls passed, then he looked up at the captain who just smiled and shook his head.

"Girls. Always curious of the castle." Then Treville looked around "Any sign of your daughter?"

D'artagnon swallowed a laughed "None."

When the girls reached the ballroom, they sighed with relief.

"That was close." Renee whispered.

"I'm surprised we were able to get past my dad." Corinne said "If that had been Conrad, it would have been impossible to get past him."

Just then, a loud voice caught their attention "Countess De' Winter!"

Aramina gasped "They're announcing everyone's names!"

"Just don't give your real one." Renee said.

Corinne smirked "Okay." Then she went gliding over to the announcer and whispered in his ear.

The announcer's eyebrows rose "That is your name?"

"Do you always question people with names that are different?" Corinne asked.

The man shrugged, then turned into the room "Lady Bar Be' Que!"

Corinne did a slight curtsy, plastering a smile on her face, and descended the stairs a few steps, then waited for her friends.

Viveca went next. Then Renee, then Aramina. And with each name, the announcer's eyebrows rose.

"Duchess Ivana Partee! Abby Birthday! Countess Hedda Lettuce!"

When the four girls were standing on the stairs, they continued down together.

"Just try to blend in." Corinne said when they reached the floor. The others nodded and they split up and begin to wonder around the ballroom.

Corinne watched as Viveca went to show off her dress to a couple of girls who were bragging about having the most beautiful gowns at the ball.

Corinne shook her head and chuckled. Viveca sure knew how to make an impression. She was looking around the room, trying to spot anyone suspicious, when a tray of food slid right beneath her nose.

She looked down at the tray, suddenly realizing how hungry she was. She hadn't eaten since before Conrad disappeared.

She snatched a grape off the tray and popped it into her mouth.

Helene looked up at her "Eyes and ears open?"

Corinne froze, then nodded. Helene moved on, so Corinne swallowed her grape, then glanced around.

"His Royal Highness!" The announcer shouted "Prince Louis!"

Corinne cringed "Great. What's the point of a masquerade when everyone knows who you are?"

Louis walked down to the bottom of the stairs, just going through the routine he'd performed many times.

The two girls that had been bragging about their dresses earlier stopped and gasped.

"There he is!"

Aramina sighed dreamily "He is most handsome."

Renee rolled her eyes "We're here to protect the prince Aramina. Not _date _him!"

"The prince's sword dance!" the announcer held a sword that matched the prince's costume high in the air, then handed it to the prince.

Louis stuck the sword in his belt, the started looking for a partner. Like usual, most of the girls were giggling and vying for his attention. But one girl caught his attention. She had long blond hair and was wearing a bright pink dress. But what really caught his attention was the fact that the closer he got to her, she turned away from him.

"_Perfect." _He thought _"Maybe she'll act halfway normal." _He held his hand out to her "May I have the honor?"

Corinne spun around and looked at him. she glanced back at her friends, then at his hand, and looked around quickly "Uh…" if she said no, the whole crowd would stare at her like she was nuts! But if she said yes, she'd be smack dab in the middle of the ballroom, but, she'd be right beside him in case of trouble "Sure." She finally said, taking his hand and curtsied.

He smiled and led her out to the floor.

"_Okay. Curtsy." _Corinne thought, trying to remember everything she had learned in one night! _"And in and out. And in and out. And walk in a circle." _She thought, her mind completely caught up in doing the steps right. Then Louis spoke.

"You look so familiar, do I know you?"

Corinne looked up at him "Uh… No! Your highness." She said quickly. _"Oh boy. If he recognizes me, I'm sunk!"_

"Are you certain?" Louis stared at her face until she looked down at her feet "Perhaps we met at another ball. In Vienna!"

Corinne chuckled nervously "This is my first ball."

"I see." Louis said, still trying to think of where he had seen her "Perhaps we met in the country."

Corinne's eyebrows rose "Definitely not."

Okay. So he hadn't met her at another ball. He hadn't met her in the country. Maybe he'd recognize her name "Tell me. What's your name?"

Her eyes widened, then she blushed "Uh…" Okay. What was she going to tell him now? Corinne? Definitely not. Lady Bar Be' Que? Well, what else could she say? "Lady… Bar Be'… Que."

Louis' eyebrows rose "Lady Barbeque?"

"Yeah." She flashed him a smile. Here it comes.

But he simply nodded "Charming. How did you hear about this ball?"

"I… got… an… um…" Corinne was racking her brain "Invitation!"

Louis chuckled "I'm glad you did."

Just when she thought her cheeks couldn't get any pinker, Louis said something.

"So, where are you from?" Louis asked a moment later.

"Uh… Italy." She said quickly. She'd never have to make up such a story in her life! Not even when she was a four years old and was caught underneath the house with her father's sword and bridle. She'd claimed that Conrad had told her that if you buried a sword and bridle under the house it would grow a saddle. Her parents hadn't believed her. But Conrad, who stuck up for her no matter what, had piped up and said "No. I said plant them under an oak tree!" She sighed at the thought of her brother. Her brother that was still missing.

"Are you okay?" Louis asked, noticing that her spirits had lowered.

"Just thinking about my brother." She answered quietly.

"Brother?"

Corinne gasped "Uh… yes. I miss him." she forced a smile.

Louis nodded "He couldn't come?"

"No. I had to leave him in Germany."

"Germany?"

"I mean… Hungary!"

"Hungary?"

"Tuscany?" She finally said weakly.

Louis chuckled "Don't you mean, Italy?"

Corinne's face turned a bright red "Of course."

Louis just laughed "Don't worry. Sometimes I can't remember if I'm in Paris. Especially when I'm with…" his voice trailed off and his face got a slight tint darker.

Corinne smiled "With…?"

Louis sighed "A girl I know. Or knew, before my cousin had her banned from the palace. Her name's Corinne."

Corinne bit her lip, but she had to ask "You… uh… like her?"

Louis quiet for a few seconds, then he changed the subject "So, you say the Bar Be' Que Family comes from Italy?"

Corinne sighed. Here we go again "Yes. As do our cousins, the… Pepperonis!" she cringed. After her country flop, there was no way he was going to buy that one.

But when she looked at him, he smiled "Fascinating."

She laughed slightly. He'd bought it! He'd actually bought it! She smiled at him, then remembered _why_ she was dancing with him. She looked around at the other dancers. One man with a blue mask caught her attention. Even behind the mask he looked evil, malice and… highly familiar. She looked down to where his sword was and saw a silver tip peeking out from overtop of the decorative blue sheath.

"_There's one of them." _She thought _"I wonder where the others are. At least we know that they're here now. And the musketeers probably aren't."_

She looked caught Aramina's eye and discretely nodded towards the sword. Aramina then passed the message to Viveca and Renee who were dancing nearby.

Renee and Viveca abruptly left their dance partners, and moved to a different part of the ballroom.

Corinne glanced around quickly, looking for an escape route. Then she spotted the refreshment tables "Shall we get some punch?" she asked, plastering a amile.

Louis laughed "But the dance isn't over yet."

Corinne sent a pleading look to Aramina, who caught the message and spun over to start dancing with the man with real sword.

Corinne breathed a slight sigh of relief, but she knew this was far from over. She watched as Aramina stepped on the man's toes. The man bowed then briskly walked away. He then waved to a man that had a mask that only covered one eye. Then that wan waved to the announcer who shouted something out the window.

"You're awfully distracted." Louis commented.

"Huh?" Corinne looked at the prince, then smiled "Just thinking."

Just then, there was a large BANG! And an explosion of colors above them as a fireworks show started.

Louis was immediately captivated, as was everyone else in the ballroom. It wasn't long before Corinne found herself watching in awe as the fireworks continually exploded, their colors lighting up the night as they flew across the sky.

It wasn't until she heard the unmistakable sound of a sword being pulled from its sheath, did she pull her eyes from the fireworks. She gasped when she spotted the man with the blue mask, holding a sword, ready to ram it into the back of the unsuspecting prince, right in the middle of the ballroom!


	12. Getting it done the girls' way

She quickly spun around and cut a cartwheel over to where the man was standing and then kicked at his hand.

The man then swung his hand towards her, attempting to get her out of his way. She grabbed his wrist, then grabbed his other hand that he had swung at her. Then she recognized him. Philippe.

Philippe gave a low growl, the shoved her backwards, figuring he'd have just enough time to get rid of Louis before she got back to her feet. But instead of falling, her hands came in contact with the floor and her feet flew up, kicking the sword from his hands.

Philippe watched shocked at the sword flew through the air.

Corinne landed on her feet then jumped and grabbed the sword and dropped into a musketeer pose, holding the sword ready.

Philippe stared at her for a moment before he found his voice "Her sword is real!" He shouted "Someone, get her!"

With a disgusted swing, Corinne threw the sword to the ground "That snake." She mumbled under her breath.

A whole group of men pulled out swords and advanced on the blond.

"_Well, finding everyone with real swords went easier than planned." _Corinne thought as her friends ran behind her.

One of the Regent's men took the confused Prince's arm and hurriedly led him away. But there was no way the girls could go after him, they were trapped, and people were rushing from the ballroom.

Philippe smirked, then ran off.

"The real Villain is getting away!" Corinne said.

"And these men are all in on it!" Renee added, then she lowered her voice and whispered "They've captured all the musketeers. There's not one left!"

Corinne nodded. She'd suspected as much "Well, we're not going to let them get away with it! Let's do this!"

The men advanced a little closer, not quite sure what to do about the girls.

Viveca pulled out a bottle of perfume. Corinne smiled. She knew how that stuff could make you choke.

The men's eyes watered and they began to cough uncontrollably as the thick cloud of perfume enveloped them.

Quick as a flash, the girls long skirts were off, revealing shorter skirts beneath them.

They all had weapons in their hands and were all standing in different poses.

"All for one!" Corinne said, almost happily.

"And one for all!" Her friends answered.

The men glared and inched closer to the girls.

Corinne nodded, Aramina and Viveca stuck one of their weapons behind their backs, then all four girls took the capes off their shoulders, and in practiced unison, threw them, covering the four men directly in front of them's heads.

The four then ran and jumped over the men's heads, pushing them to the ground in the process.

The four girls landed behind the men and smiled at each other. They couldn't help it! This was fun!

"So love the drama!" Aramina said.

The others laughed then ran to pick a fight with the other guys.

Viveca picked her fight first "Ahem." She said "Your shoe's untied."

The man looked down at his boots, then back at her and laughed "Ha! You can't fool me! They don't even have laces!"

"Now they do." Viveca announced, flicking out one of her ribbons and wrapping it around his left foot. She yanked back and the man flew onto his back and groaned, but didn't get up.

Viveca looked at the boot hanging from the end of her ribbon in disgust "Those boots, are so last season." She then gaged "And they stink!"

Aramina found her match up on the ballroom balcony. She pirouetted over to the man. She flipped her fans open and smirked.

The man charged her, swinging his sword. But she easily sideswiped his weapon.

He tried several more times, but got nowhere. Aramina finally decided that she'd had enough and sent the man flying into the wall.

"I was having the best time dancing." She said to no one in particular "But _this_ is even better!"

Renee faced her challenger from several feet away. She took off her necklace and began to swing it in circles.

The man just stared at her, not sure of what she was doing.

Renee let the gem in the middle of the necklace fly. Then man never saw it coming till it struck his hand, making him yelp and throw his sword. He shook his hurt hand and looked up to see Renee swinging her necklace around again.

"No!" he wailed as he turned around and ran.

"You got to be quicker than that!" Renee scoffed.

Corinne met her match in the middle of the ballroom floor "En Guard!" she warned.

The man gritted his teeth and charged. Corinne swung her sword at lightning speed, blocking all his attempted blows. After a few moments, he tried to ram her with his sword. She simply spun out of the way. The man stumbled and fell, thrown off balance by her sudden maneuver.

Corinne laughed "Oh, sorry 'bout that." Then she turned to face her next opponent.

**Louis had been **shoved through a secret opening in the wall, resulting in losing his mask.

He spun around as the wall closed behind him, locking him in a dark corridor.

He was staring at the wall when someone stepped up behind him.

'Who are you?" Louis demanded, not quite able to keep the fear from, his voice.

The man in the blue lion's mask removed his mask and smirked.

Louis, to relieved to notice the smirk, relaxed "Philippe! I thought you left for the Chateau!"

"I turned around as soon as I heard there was trouble." Philippe said.

Louis nodded slightly "What is this place?"

"A secret passageway, built for the king's protection." Philippe pointed to one of the many corridors "Follow me."

Louis glanced back at the secret entrance, his mind going to Lady Bar Be' Que. Why did she have a sword? Where had she gotten it? And how would she even know how to use it? Something flashed through his mind, but Philippe shouted his name, telling him to hurry before the assassinators found a way in.

Louis sighed and followed. He was sure Lady Bar Be' Que was no assassinator. But why did she have a sword?

**Corinne chuckled as **she skipped up a staircase that led to the second floor of the ballroom. She spun around and held her sword ready as three men came running up the stairs after her.

The man in front swung at her. Corinne fought with him for a few seconds before she hooked her blade underneath the handle of his sword and forced it from his hand. She caught it "Ha!" she said triumphantly, holding both swords ready.

"Ooh." She said "New challenge."

The, now swordless man, turned and ran, leaving his two comrades to handle the girl.

Corinne couldn't help but smile as she fought both men at the same time.

"Two against one?" She laughed "Hardly seems fair." Then, with one final move, she threw their swords away from them.

Having no further business there, she jumped up onto the railing and slid down. When she reached the bottom, she flipped off and landed on the floor. She looked up at the men and smiled, then took off running.

She stopped in the middle of the floor, Aramina stepped up beside her.

"How's it going?" Corinne asked.

Aramina shrugged "I think it's going well." She pointed up to the balcony to see Viveca standing on a buffet table.

She flicked out her ribbons and grabbed a sword from one on their hands and threw it over the edge.

Aramina squealed and ran as the sword came flying towards them. Corinne jumped back, then grabbed the sword's handle.

"Okay." Corinne shook her head "Watch out for flying swords."

They looked up and watched as Viveca started kicking some of the appetizers from the tables into the men that were chasing her, faces.

"Shall we hope Madame De' Bosse doesn't go upstairs." Corinne said. Then her attention was drawn to Renee running back into the room, two men behind her.

"Hey look." Aramina said "The musicians are still here!"

"They are paid by the hour." Corinne commented.

Renee ran over to one of the musicians "Mind if I borrow this?" she asked, taking his violin and bow from him. Then, using the violin like a bow, she shot the violin bow like an arrow. The bow shot through the air and cut the rope holding a giant banner to the roof. The banner fell and covered the men.

Renee handed the Violin back to the musician "E string's a little flat." Then she went over to join her friends "Well, how'd we do?"

Corinne nodded "Good. Now where's…"

"Girls!" Viveca shouted "We're not done yet!" she pointed to some men advancing on them.

One of them was the big man with the eye patch.

The girls backed up until there was a wall behind them and the men in front of them.

"They're everywhere!" Viveca said.

Corinne looked around frantically "Where's the prince?"

"I thought you were watching him!" Renee said.

Corinne glanced at her warily "I was a little busy." Then something small and blue caught her eye. A blue mask lying right beside a wall "The passageways!" she gasped. Then she nodded at Viveca who pulled out her bottle of perfume and sprayed it at the men.

While the men were bent over coughing and gagging, the girls ran through them.

Corinne pushed the button on the wall and waited till her friends were through the entrance before she ran through.

Aramina closed the door right behind her, then looked around "There are miles of these passageways! Which way do we go?"

"We'll find him." Corinne said "I know we will." She looked at all the different passageways, then pointed down one "This way."


	13. Battle on the Roof

**Louis and Philippe **stepped intoan elevator sort of thing. Philippe pulled a lever and the contraption began to move up.

"Fascinating." Louis said, looking up at the chains connected to the top of the thing "Uh, you know. If the cables were cantilevered at a more oblique angle, the bearing weight would double."

Philippe groaned in frusteration. He couldn't wait to get the boy out of his hair!

Louis shrugged "I must try that." Then another thought struck him "How is it that you knew of the plot against me?"

Philippe glanced at the prince, then continued to look up, waiting for their stop "I told you. My men alerted me."

"But you said you turned around as soon as you heard there was trouble." Philippe countered.

"Yes."

"But you were already at the dance when it happened."

Philippe spun around to face Louis completely, then pulled out his sword and rammed it towards the prince.

Louis jumped to the side, avoiding the blade.

The elevator was passing an entrance just then, so Louis jumped out and ran.

"Louis!" Philippe's voice echoed after him "There's no escape!"

Louis kept running _"This is why Philippe kicked Corinne out of the palace! This is what she was trying to tell me last night!"_ He could hear the sound of Philippe's boots hitting the ground now far behind him "And Lady Bar Be' Que wasn't trying to hurt me. She was trying to save me! If only one of them were here now. Or Conrad."

**Corinne and her **friends continued running through the passageways, hoping they'd find their way to the prince.

Corinne was just passing another corridor when something caught her eye. She skid to a stop.

The musketeers were tied and gagged, leaning against the sides of the corridor.

"Hm." Corinne said mockingly as her friends skid to a stop beside her "Apparently the big boys could use a little help." She looked back at her friends "You untie them, I'll keep looking for the prince."

The others nodded as Corinne ran off.

Viveca went over to Treville and removed his gag "Believe us now?"

Treville sent her an embarrassed look. Why hadn't he listened?

Renee undid D'artagnon's gag, and Aramina was undoing the others.

When she got to the last one, she gasped "Hey guys! It's Conrad!"

Conrad nodded "Yep. Now hurry, untie me!"

Once the musketeers were released, Conrad turned to run after Corinne, but Renee grabbed his arm "Where do you think you're going?"

"After Corinne." Conrad answered.

"Uh-uh." Viveca shook her head "You and the rest of these guys are going to go finish taking care of the guys in the ballroom. _We're _going to go help our friend."

Conrad sighed "Fine."

Aramina patted his arm "Don't worry. Corinne will be just as happy to see you after the war as she would be during it."

Conrad smiled and winked "Alright. If you insist."

"Come on, Aramina!" Viveca said "Let's go!"

D'artagnon shook his head as the three girls disappeared "They're something."

"Come on." Conrad said "Let's go do the girl's bidding, and hope Corinne can handle Philippe."

"Philippe?" The other musketeers echoed.

Conrad nodded "Yeah. We'll discuss is later."

Then he led the way to the entrance. The wall slid back to reveal four men trying to figure out how to open the wall.

"There's the guy who tied us up!" One of the musketeers said, pointing to the guy with the eye patch.

The man in question turned and ran.

"On no you don't!" Conrad said, running after him.

D'artagnon and Treville followed right behind while the others dealt with the traitors.

The musketeers chased the man all the way to the stables, where he jumped on a horse that Serge was holding.

"Hey!" Serge shouted "Stop!"

"He's getting away!" Treville shouted.

But no sooner had the words left his mouth, than one of the stall doors flew off and knocked the guy off the horse's back.

Conrad, his father, and Treville stopped and stared at the patched man, then turned around to see Alexander standing happily in his stall.

"Hey look!" Conrad said, pointing at the horse "She brought Alexander!"

D'artagnon rolled his eyes "Of course she brought Alexander, Conrad! How do you think she got here? By walking?"

Conrad shrugged "Knowing Corinne, she's stubborn enough to do it." Then he ran from the barn "I'm going to go find Corinne!"

**Corinne ran out **of one of the passageways and onto the terrace bridge "Where is he?" she said to herself.

Then, in a tower window she saw him running up some stairs, Philippe was right behind him, sword in hand.

Corinne gasped and ran "I have to reach him in time!"

**Louis got to **the top of the tower and jumped out one of the windows onto the roof.

It was a long way down. When he ran to the end of the roof, he turned around to take a different route, but Philippe blocked him and laughed menacingly.

"That's right, Cousin." Philippe sneered "A 'Dead' end." He advanced on the prince "All these years I advised you. Only to be tossed out the day you become king!" he swung his sword with every word, making Louis back up towards the edge of the roof.

Corinne ran out onto a balcony that was about seventy feet above where Philippe had the prince cornered.

"You're no king, Louis." She heard Philippe say "You're just a starry eyes inventor."

Louis was now standing on the very edge of the roof. His heels just barely on the edge.

Corinne looked around frantically "How can I get down there?" then she spotted a long banner hanging beside her "That'll work."

"But I never asked to be king Philippe!" Louis said, knowing that at any minute, he'd probably be falling towards the ground at breakneck speed… literally.

"That makes it all the more reason!" Philippe snapped "I should be king, not you!"

Corinne stepped up into the balcony's ledge and took a deep breath "Hope this is high enough, Conrad." Then she jumped.

Louis looked up shocked. Philippe, wondering why his cousin suddenly wasn't worried about him, followed his gaze. His eyebrows rose at the sight of a girl flying through the air on a giant banner.

When she reached her desired altitude, she released the banner and flipped through the air. A few seconds later, she landed perfectly on her feet between the prince and Philippe.

"You again, blondie?" Philippe growled.

Corinne swung her sword "You will never be king!" then the roof top dual started.

The air was filled with the sounds of their swords clashing together.

Corinne flipped to the different segment of the roof to give herself more room to move.

At one point, Philippe managed to grab her sword, in his thick gloved hand, and using his sword, he forced it from her hand.

It flew through the air and stuck in the roof just a few feet away from Louis.

"You just couldn't stay away, could you?" Philippe said.

"Not when I knew what you and your _men _were up to." Corinne answered.

Philippe's face suddenly changed from a sneer to a smirk "Actually, your persistence is quite useful."

Corinne's eyebrows furrowed as Philippe continued talking.

"When you couldn't finish off the prince at the ball, you came up here and had one final battle." He waved his sword at her for emphasis.

Neither one of them noticed Louis down on his hands and knees reaching for Corinne's sword.

"Unfortunately, I was too late to help the prince. And when you lunged for me, I had no other choice than to send you off the roof to your tragic demise!"

Corinne gasped. That was not good.

"Lady Bar Be' Que!" Louis shouted, getting both of theirs attention "Catch!" with that, he threw Corinne's sword.

Corinne looked from the prince to Philippe, to the sword that was flying towards her. Since Philippe's attention was still on his cousin, Corinne flipped backwards, then jumped, caught her sword, and pointed it at Philippe "Nice story." She said "Too bad yours won't have a happy ending!"

Philippe groaned in frustration, then he lunged at her. But this time, Corinne was more than determined, she was mad.

Philippe tried to overpower her, but he couldn't. And in one final move, She sent his sword crashing into the roof. Her sword than came within an inch from his nose.

Philippe backed away from her. Corinne smirked as she walked towards him.

Philippe's foot slid over the side of the roof and he fell. His hands gripped the side of the roof..

"Right when I think you can't get any more annoying," Corinne said, looking down at him "You out do yourself. Oh, and by the way. Still believe a girl doesn't possess the proper skills?"

Philippe's eyes widened as he recognized who she was.

Corinne shook her head, then turned and yanked his sword out of the roof and threw it over the edge. Then she hurried over to Louis "Are you alright?"

Louis nodded "Yes, I am." He placed a hand on her arm "And you?"

Corinne smiled "Yes, I am, Your Highness."

Louis chuckled "Please, call me Louis."

Corinne's smiled grew "I think I can manage that."

As Louis stared at her, he couldn't help but feel like her knew her. Then his attention was drawn to a movement behind his rescuer.

Philippe was on his feet, a dagger in his hand, and he was charging at the girl, wanting his last taste of revenge.

"Look out!" Louis shouted, grabbing her hand that held the sword and turning her around.

The sword and the dagger met.

Louis relaxed his wrist and let Corinne maneuver the sword to send Philippe's dagger flying away.

A smile spread across Corinne's face as she looked up at Louis. He looked down at her, the same smile on his face. They were good together.

Seeing his chance to escape, Philippe turned to run, but Treville appeared and grabbed him.

Louis pointed to his cousin "Arrest him."

Treville nodded and led Philippe away.

Louis than looked back at the blond girl who was still standing right in front of him "Thank you."

She nodded, her blue eyes sparkling "You're welcome… Louis."

Even the way she said his name seemed familiar. Too familiar. And so was that feeling in the pit of his stomach. There was only one other person he'd felt that way with…

Conrad ran up onto the roof, Aramina, Viveca and Renee right behind him.

When Conrad saw his sister, he laughed with relief "Corinne!"

Corinne's head snapped in his direction, her eyes grew wide and she gasped "Conrad!" she stepped around Louis and ran into her brother's embrace.

Louis' mouth gaped open "C… Corinne?"

The blond looked over at him and smiled. Then she reached up and removed her mask.

Yep, that was definitely Corinne. No one else in the world could look like her.

The other three girls also removed their masks, and Louis immediately recognized them as the other maids.

"Come on." Conrad said, offering his elbow to Aramina "I'd like to see Philippe be put into the jail cart."

Corinne's eyebrows rose as her brother and friends disappeared from sight. She leaned a bit closer to the prince "Is it me, or is my brother… what's the word?"

"In love?" Louis finished.

Corinne nodded "Yeah. That might be it." She looked up at him, not realizing how close he was. Her face turned a slight shade of pink as she turned back away from him "Come on. They're probably waiting for us."

Louis nodded "Probably."

Once they'd gone back through the passageways, and out the front door, Treville and the rest of the musketeers had gotten all of Philippe's men arrested, and Treville was leading Philippe to the jail cart.

"And to think I trusted you." Louis said as Philippe was being drug past him.

Philippe put on the stupidest smile he could "Does this mean I won't be invited to your birthday party next year?" then he was yanked away.

Corinne snorted "He really is insane." She mumbled.

Louis chuckled "I noticed."

Then, a furious, red headed woman came storming out of the castle and gasped when she saw the four girls "You!"

Corinne cringed then looked over at her three friends "Anyone have a skillet?"

Louis' eyebrows rose as he looked from the four girls to Madame De' Bosse.

"Your Highness," De' Bosse said "These girls…"

"I am very well aware that these girls have been banned from the castle." Louis interrupted "And I am also aware that the orders were given to you by my cousin."

Corinne glanced up at Louis, then at Madame De' Bosse, a smile spreading across her face. This could prove interesting.

"But they still have violated orders!" Madame De' Bosse exclaimed.

"And in doing so have saved my life." Louis crossed his arms. How had he missed how obnoxious this woman was?

"But…"

"You are dismissed, Madame De' Bosse." Louis said, having to keep himself from rolling his eyes.

Corinne stepped up to him and tapped his shoulder "May I make a suggestion, Your Highness?"

Louis looked at her and smiled "Of course."

"Well, you see…" Corinne flashed Madame De' Bosse a smile "I have a dear friend that's been a maid here, forever! I think she deserves a promotion."

Louis glanced over at Madame De' Bosse, then back at the blond beside him "Really?"

Corinne nodded, her eyes sparkling with mischief and a bit of revenge.

Louis chuckled "I think it's a fine idea."

Madame De' Bosse gasped "I just got demoted?" she started fanning herself dramatically "But… it's impossible!"

Renee smirked "Get used to the disappointment."

Madame De' Bosse turned and ran back into the palace.

Corinne looked back at her friends and they all burst out laughing and at the same time mockingly said "Not a speck."

Conrad slid over to Louis and chuckled "So… still like the blond?"

Louis shook his head and smiled "Conrad…"

"Watch it Louis. She is my sister." Conrad walked around the prince to stand on his other side "Depending on your answer, I can kill you if I want."

Louis just laughed "So Conrad. Do you still like the red?"

"What!?" The young musketeer stepped away from the prince "Now where did you get that idea?"

Corinne turned away from her brother's conversation with Louis "Nuts."

"Come on." Viveca whispered "They won't even notice that we've left."

With a quiet laugh the four girls ran off, leaving the two boys teasing each other.

"Oh yeah?" Conrad said "I'll bet you…" he looked around "Hey. Where'd they go?"

Louis quirked an eyebrow "That didn't make any sense."

Conrad huffed "No Genius. They're gone."

Louis looked to where the girls had been standing "Where did they go?"

Conrad just laughed "Who knows."

Louis shook his head "You know, Conrad. Between you and your sister, and her friends, you have saved my life more times than I can count, and I appreciate it."

Conrad nodded, becoming serious "It's my honor, Your Highness."

"How can I repay you?"

Conrad smiled and motioned towards the girls' apartment "I can think of one way."


	14. Becoming Musketeers!

"**Viveca Charlemont, you **are hereby named a musketeer!"

The crowd applauded loudly as Conrad handed King Louie the cape to put over her shoulders.

Louis shook her hand and smiled.

Viveca jumped up and down happily.

He then did the same to Aramina Lecour, who squealed while spinning in circles, and Renee Dumas who nodded with dignity.

Conrad, who's arm was in a sling due to the arrow he had taken in the shoulder, handed Louis the last musketeer cape and smiled as Corinne slowly, but eagerly stepped forward.

"And," Louis said, smiling brightly "Corinne Emily D'artagnon." He quickly flipped the cape over her shoulders and shook her hand, not releasing it when he was done.

"Thank you." Corinne whispered.

Louis nodded "My pleasure, Corinne." They stared at each other for a long moment before Louis gently pulled on her hand, bringing her closer to him.

Both of their heads slightly tilted to the side as she was pulled closer.

Corinne's eyes suddenly flicked from his face to the crowd and back "Louis." She whispered, slightly nodding towards the crowd.

Louis looked where indicated. The entire crowd had grown completely silent, and their gaze was fixed on the King and musketeer.

Louis chuckled and took a step back from the girl. He turned to face the crowd and held Corinne's hand in the air "Your Musketeers!"

The people below began to clap and scream. It was so loud you couldn't hear yourself think.

Conrad tapped Corinne's shoulder "Come on!" he shouted "It's time to go down!"

Corinne nodded and took his hand, then ran with the rest of the girls down the stairs, leaving a, slightly, jealous Louis behind. But he slowly followed.

When the girls reached the outdoors, they waved and curtsied to the crowd.

Corinne sent on last thankful wave to Helene, who smiled and nodded.

Helene was the head maid now, and Madame De' Bosse worked for _her,_ instead of the other way around.

The girls made their way into the crowd, greeting people and getting congratulated.

Corinne made her way over to where her mom and dad were standing.

"My little girl's a musketeer!" Marie said, pulling her daughter into a hug.

"We always knew you'd do it." D'artagnon said.

Corinne smiled "Thank you. You never gave up on me."

D'artagnon chuckled "I have to admit, I had my doubts. But Conrad never lost hope."

Corinne looked around and spotted her brother, in just enough time to see him quickly kiss Aramina. Her eyebrows shot up "Okay. How long has he known my best friend?"

D'artagnon followed her gaze and rolled his eyes "Ever since he walked into town and happened to find his way to the rose garden."

"And he didn't tell me?"

"What boy tells his little sister when he's in love?" Marie asked "And what girls tells her big brother when she is."

Corinne's face turned a slight shade of red as she decided to go join her friends.

Marie looked up at D'artagnon confused "Why did she blush?"

Corinne walked over to her friends "Can you believe it?"

"We're musketeers!" Viveca squealed.

Treville and Louis walked over to the girls.

"Girls." Treville said "I know that none of y'all are thinking about this right now, but y'all need to pick a leader."

"A leader?" Corinne echoed.

Treville nodded "Yes. I'm the captain, but you girls need a leader. Someone that takes charge when I can't."

"Or won't." Renee added.

Louis chuckled at the embarrassed look that passed over the captain's face.

"Captain, we're a team." Corinne said "We all work together."

"I know. But you need to pick a leader."

Corinne looked back at her friends "Well, I vote…"

"Corinne." The other three said in unison.

"What!?" The blond girl's eyes widened "I was going to say Renee, because she's strong willed and easily takes control."

Renee shook her head "Corinne. If it wasn't for you, we wouldn't be here. We'd have gone home when we were fired. And true, I can easily take control of a situation. But Corinne, you're already in control." She looked back at the other two for confirmation, they nodded in agreement "You're a natural born leader. You're smart, and your confidence in us keeps us going." she sighed "Honestly, Corinne. Several times, I doubted you. Even during the ball. But you wouldn't give up. And by you pressing on, it kept us going. You're strong and independent. It's just who you are."

Corinne smiled "I… I don't know what to say."

"Don't say anything." Aramina answered "Just that we're the best friends ever."

Corinne laughed "Y'all are the best friends ever!"

The four girls ran together in a group hug.

Louis tapped Corinne on the shoulder to get her attention "I know this is a dangerous question." He said, causing her to chuckle "But, would you like to take another balloon ride with me?"

Corinne smiled and nodded "I'd love to."

Just then, a musketeer came tearing through the courtyard "Captain! We've just received word of a plot! Against the king!"

Treville and D'artagnon ran for their horses.

Corinne looked up at Louis a bit apologetic "We'll have to take that balloon ride later."

She turned to go run and get Alexander, But Louis grabbed her hand "Corinne, wait!"

He pulled her back, harder than he'd intended too, causing her to stumbled and slam into him.

She laughed slightly as she looked up at him "Yes, Louis?"

Louis didn't answer, he simply pushed some hair out of her face, then he kissed her.

The crowd went completely silent, with the exception of a few gasps, one coming from Corinne's mother.

Corinne pushed Louis back gently and chuckled "I need to go."

He nodded and released her.

She ran and jumped up onto Alexander's back "Come on girls."

Conrad pulled his horse up next to his sister as the other girls mounted up.

"See. I told you Sis." Conrad said, cuffing her chin like he used to do "Working side by side."

Corinne laughed "Are you going to be working side by side with me, or Aramina?"

Conrad winked at her "Well… if Aramina's busy, I guess I'll have to settle for you."

Corinne slammed a punch into his arm, almost making him fall off his horse.

"Ow!" Conrad whined "You hit like a girl."

"Duh." Corinne rolled her eyes "I fight like one too."

"Ooh." Renee pulled her horse up to the other side of Corinne "Try and beat that."

Conrad held his hands up in surrender "Hey. What'd I say?"

Aramina giggled "We won't hurt you, Conrad."

"Much." Viveca added.

"Hey, Conrad!" D'artagnon shouted "Get over here with the men!"

The boy chuckled "I guess I'd better go." He backed up his horse, then rode over to the rest of the musketeers.

Corinne looked back at her father and smiled. He smiled in return and nodded "Ladies first."

She looked over at her friends, Viveca on her left, Aramina and Renee on her right "Ready?"

"Ready." They echoed.

"Let's go!"

At the exact same time, the girls slapped the reins, making their horses leap forward.

D'artagnon, Treville, Conrad, and five other musketeers followed.

"What's the plan?" Renee called to Corinne.

The blond looked over at her and smiled "BFF's forever. After that, we'll see."

**(A/N: Thank you everyone for reading and for your Reviews. I hope you enjoyed reading the story as much as I enjoyed writing.**

**This may be the end, and it may not. Depends if I get an inspiration of how to continue. ;)**

**My little sister thought that Emily would make a good middle name for Corinne because it according to : **People with this name have a deep inner desire for travel and adventure, and want to set their own pace in life without being governed by tradition. People with this name tend to initiate events, to be leaders rather than followers, with powerful personalities. They tend to be focused on specific goals, experience a wealth of creative new ideas, and have the ability to implement these ideas with efficiency and determination. They tend to be courageous and sometimes aggressive. As unique, creative individuals, they tend to resent authority, and are sometimes stubborn, proud, and impatient.

**Again, thanks for reading!****)**


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